Beginner Financing Option

[Jackson Sipperly]

I'm sure this has been asked on here approximately 247 thousand times on BP, but I'm hoping for some general advice from the pros! I am a new investor looking to acquire my first investment property basically as soon as fiscally possible. I've attached the education side of it, identified a target market and started to analyze deals. I'm trying to decide on a best strategy for entry point in regards to financing my first deal. 

I have a full time W2, zero debt and a low cost of living. I've started saving aggressively in the past few months and have about $5k in cash as of this moment. Obviously that is a low amount for a first property of around $150k, but I'm saving as much as I can in the meantime while eyeing a 20% down payment on my first property. 

My question essentially is what are the best options in terms of financing a first property? I'm looking at the ChoiceRenovation loan as I'm thinking likely the first property will require some rehab. I've also considered hard money in the past but I'm leary of that as a first financing option due to the high rates and my inexperience. At the same time, I've caught the REI bug hard and have that itch to acquire my first property. I'm hoping someone can provide me with some general financing advice for someone who is starting out. Thank you!