Financing For Second New York Property

[Ryan Clancy]

Hi BiggerPockets,

I am exploring my options for financing a second property in New York and I'm looking for some advice on the best course of action.

The down payment will be financed with a home equity loan on our current property, and the two options that seem to be the best for us are either to put 20% down on a rental property (multi-family) or wait until we are in our current home a year (April 2021) to obtain another loan that requires primary residence with 5% down or even an FHA loan.

However we are planning to go travelling next year so I'm not sure how that affects the occupancy requirement, our furniture and belongings will be in the house and it will be our home but we will not be there for the majority of the time.

So ideally if financing allows would be to go for the 20% option (higher upfront cost and higher rental income) but if that is not possible is the primary residence route a viable option if we are not going to be in the house (but it is still our home)?

Any advice on my situation would be really helpful!

Thanks in advance!