Second House Hack financing

[Andre Taylor-Domville]

Hello all!

Hoping for some luck that someone can help me with an issue I'm having. I'm looking to purchase my second house hack and I'm running into problems finding a loan that works for me. One of the main benefits of house hacking is obviously the low down payment as it is your primary residence, however I'm being told that 15% may be my only option.

For some context I'm looking to purchase a second 2 family home in Hudson County New Jersey that I will move in to. For my first I used an FHA 3.5% down. You can only have one FHA loan at a time and I can not yet refinance out of my current home to free up my FHA. When I was originally looking for my first home I was preapproved for a 5% down conventional loan that allowed 2 family homes but I've called around a bunch and apparently that doesn't exist anymore. I know there's options in the single family space but that doesn't really work in my market unfortunately. Was wondering how others have overcome this problem in their journey. At this point I'd be looking for a portfolio lender that offers a special program or one that might be willing to lend on the appraised value if I'm able to get a below market deal. Thanks in advance for any help, have a great day!