Conventional financing. 5% down.

Get a conventional mortgage.

I'm not an loan officer, but I know some banks locally like ORNL Credit Union have offered a 0% down conventional loan product.

Higher loan balances we would likely see an opportunity in the future to refinance again due to lower rates so consider a 2-3 year prepayment penalty.Of course if you qualify for Conventional Financing (Fannie/Freddie), there are no prepayment penalties so just calculating out the return of investment timeline on point buy downs.Good luck shopping and let me know if you want to talk further!

I am using a conventional FHA loan to acquire the property.

I went owner occupied either conventional or FHA.  3-5% down at the time you only had to live there 1 year and then you can move out or move on. 

I can make the down payments in the smaller market on cash-flowing deals, but these bigger markets require 40-70k to make a deal the conventional way, and I just don't have that to invest.

Once you file your 2nd year of tax returns, you may now be able to qualify for Agency Loans (FHA/Conventional).

Can I refinance my primary residence 30yr conventional loan into an investment loan of some type and have my wife & kids live there while I live in a seperate primary residence (multifamily) to satisfy the 12m occupancy of VA loans?

you don't buy with long term / conventional financing and then refinance again into long term / conventional financing - many properties are too distressed to even qualify. so the "interest rate when purchasing" is irrelevant - the deal either works or it doesn't.