@John Princinsky
If you don’t have money to front for a down payment/out-right purchase, then purchasing with a partner is probably your best option IMO. Your partner could supply the money necessary to acquire the property, and you can be the one to manage it. No need for cash on your end and you get a great education/experience in landlording.
If you want to take the route of borrowing money for a down payment I suggest using a friend/family member first to work something out, and if that doesn't work, talk with a private money lender. This option is risky for two main reasons 1) Some banks flag large deposits if they reflect on your bank statements. If they find out you borrowed money for the down payment they may add it to your DTI. I suggest borrowing money from "Dad" and use a "Gift letter" - work out payback terms with Dad later. 2) If you're thinking about doing a cash out refinance to pay-off your lender of the down payment you're banking on the property appraising high enough to allow you to pull more out. Plus you'll have to go through the entire financing process again..verifying income, financing costs, credit pull etc. There's a lot of uncertainty with this and it would be costly...
Lastly, for someone with little cash I would also recommend maybe doing a FHA House Hack. Come up with 3.5%, ask for enough seller concessions to cover closing costs, evict a tenant and move in. I've had clients do this before. Some of them said they would evict someone after closing, but never did...I am not suggesting that at all, but you can read between the lines ;)
Hopes this helps. Let me know if you have any questions.
