25% on multi-family units?

[Clayton Crawford]

Hello again BP!

We have been saving and planning to purchase our first multifamily. I have been working with Well Fargo since the purchase of our second property and my loan officer and i have been planning on the down payment for the multifamily to be 15%. However, yesterday i put in an offer for two duplexes and contacted Well Fargo, only to find that we would have to pay a minimum of 25% for each property. When i asked why, i was told it was because its a multifamily.. Now I'm wondering why, and if anyone know of any options that will allow me to pay less than 25%.

I understand that i could pay less by using an FHA/203K, but we do not want to move into a multifamily as our first option. I also know that we can always just plan for a 25% down payment, and if that's the best answer to the question, i will gladly do so.

Thank you all very much for your input. My wife and i have learned more th