Creative Financing Ideas?

[Ryan D]

Wanted to ask if anyone has any ideas for how I can finance a duplex.

In a nutshell: I've got excellent credit (750) and 20K of savings. I figured I'd be in a good position to pick up a duplex down the street, but have realized going the conventional route is not going to work. Reason being, after all is said and done I would be left with basically no reserves. The property has a lot of nice updates but also still needs about 5K of work. The owners are desperate and asking me to bring any offer to the table. The current asking price is 70K, but if I could get it for 55K it would cash flow quite well. The main thing I'm worried about is having no reserves, as the property needs some work and is currently vacant. I'd like to buy and hold.

Has anyone heard of taking out a conventional loan and then basically refinancing within the first couple months to recoup your down payment? I heard about this strategy from David Campbell (Hassle Free Cash Flow Investing). Does anyone follow him? What about owner financing? How does that work?

I'm just trying to brainstorm. Any input is welcome!