Commercial loan vs residential loan for a 4plex rental property

[Hanyai Bungals]

Hello, long time reader here.

My business partner and I have discussed different real estate opportunities, and we have decided to go forward with purchasing a 4plex rental property for around 100-150k.

We've spoken to a few credit unions to acquire financing for this property. From the feedback we've been getting, they are willing to structure the loan as a 5 year note with a 25-year amortization schedule and then a balloon payment in the 5th year. We would definitely prefer to have the typical 30-year (or 20 or other longer-dated term) mortgage so that we can match our rental income against our mortgage loan payments (and also not have to pay a large, out-of-pocket balloon payment at the end of the 5th year).

So my questions are:

(1) Do credit unions/banks/conventional lenders typically offer a 5 year or shorter duration loan for real estate investment properties -- or are there ones willing to do longer term?

(2) Is there anyway around this? We've considered the possibility of us living there for a little while so that we can get a residential loan, and then eventually making it a full rental property although I'm not sure about the legal or other type of consequences of that (could the bank claim that violates the terms of the loan and call the loan? ...do they even check this?)

(3) Are there any other creative financing methods for a property? Or any other solution to this issue?

Thank you in advance!

[Brie Schmidt]

@Hanyai Bungals You mention a partner. Residential loans need to be made to the individual, not a business. So if you are trying to by in a LLC then a commercial loan is your only option. If you want a 30 year fixed it needs to be funded off your personal income and finances and offers little protection in a partnership situation.