My HVAC people said they are troublesome to service and keep clean as they don't have the simple filters to change like conventional systems do.

There are also Conventional rehab loan options that may or may not work, depending on the deal specs. 

I’ve already purchased 1 rental property (a duplex) this year with a conventional mortgage.

My alternative would be a conventional loan with 20% down where my budget would be about 200k or 40k down. 

What is the minimum that I can borrow using a conventional loan ?

Conventional mortgage How did you add value to the deal?

They do qualify you based upon the cash flow of the property, but they have high origination fees, prepayment penalties and higher interest rates than conventional.  

What I’m looking at now is using the HELOC for a down payment and getting a conventional loan, just need to get someone to bite on an offer that’s low enough for me to at least break even month to month. 

I'm interested in getting a conventional loan and considering using a credit union. 

And, as it relates to your plan, you probably know the optics of your market better than I, but I find that five unit properties are often slightly less desirable than four unit properties, simply because buyers can no longer use conventional financing for five units.