Mostly on trade accounts with local businesses for the materials, some business credit cards, some of the contractors were OK with waiting 30 days for payment. 

The downside is they usually come with higher interest rates and shorter loan terms.Partnerships or Co-signers: If your husband or a trusted partner has U.S. legal status and credit history, they might be able to co-sign or help with financing.Cash Purchases: Since you have savings in Canada, you might consider using that for your first property, especially for a smaller rehab project.Foreign National Loans: Some lenders specialize in providing loans for foreign nationals.

If a seller listed a home for $100,000 but was willng to sell for $94,000 as that was likely the FMV, it would be the same to him if he accepted $100,000 with a 6% seller credit or $94,000.I looked at the zip codes of lower priced homes in Memphis, Cleveland and Indianapolis and they appeared to perform betterMemphis38105 - Prices were $35,700 in 2016 and now $116,000(220%)38106 - Prices were $21,600 in 2016 and now $60,900(180%)Cleveland44108 - Prices were $34,000 in 2016 and now $59,800(74%)44104 - Prices were $36,300 in 2016 and now $60,400(66%)Indianapolis46201 - Prices were $42,900 in 2016 and now $149,000(247%)46222 - Prices were $39,000 in 2016 and now $127,000(225%)I should mention that I don't invest in Memphis, Cleveland or Indianapolis.

People with good credit scores can even be denied.

I have yet to see code violations, water shut offs, and fire damaged properties. 

Then you may shop in that price range.Tip: check with your local credit union: they will consistently have better rates and often the underwriting of loans is done locally.Mike

Could you send them a credit/debit card you can reload from America?

Many investors make the mistake of over-improving their purchases in Class C/D areas, which when damaged by Class C/D S8 tenants - costs them thousands.Another fallacy of S8 investing is that the S8 Caseworker will keep the S8 tenant inline by threatening to take their voucher away.- The reality is this depends on each individual caseworker.

My credit is poor right now but can easily be improved as my income is much better lately. 

I think they are just an extremely conservative bank and that is their interpretation of Fannie's guidelines.I have already gotten approved from some other banks (credit unions), so I'm not worried, but I am curious if anyone else has run into a bank telling them they need at least a 20% down payment on 3-4 units, regardless of it being FHA or not.