First Rental Investment Property

[Ronald Garn]

I am trying to enter the real estate industry with a rental investment property. My options are as follows: 

- Multi-family home with 15% down, 0.5% off rate, and $1,000 towards closing costs. 

- Single family home in a community reinvestment act, therefore only require 3% down, get 1% of rate, and receive $6,000 towards closing costs. 

- Two single family homes in a community reinvestment act, therefore only require 3% down, get 1% of rate, and receive $6,000 towards closing costs.

In order to receive these extremely low down payments, i would have to technically live in the residence for a few months as they do not offer these for investment properties. Therefore, would not be receiving rent payments to offset the mortgage payments. If we purchase any of these as an investment property, we would need 20% down, however will have tenants immediately after purchase. So there are pros and cons to both options. Even if we purchase the multi-family, I do not plan on living in it as it is too far from my office. Thinking about our best option here and would appreciate some other views and advice! 

FYI - The 3 houses are all around the same price