Yes, you could easily buy a fourplex in Colorado in 2012 with 3.5% down using an FHA loan.

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

I'm in the same boat for reference- I bought into the "buy now, refi later" idea and am sitting on a 7.375% on my latest property acquisition and a commercial line of credit I have is at prime + 1 (so 8.5%).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Often they like to ultimately buy their properties and will pay over market value so they don’t have to uproot the established program to stay in the home they’ve been renting.

Once you can define what you are looking for then you can create your "Buy Box". 

Investment Info:Townhouse buy & hold investment.

So depending on what your investment goals are and what type of properties (Class A through C/D) and where in the city you want to buy, that can directly impact the level of stability one can find within the market here. 

Investment Info:Small multi-family (2-4 units) buy & hold investment.

I wanted to be able to help educate people, especially the underserved community, about real estate, whether buying, selling, and assisting with the process of foreclosures and short sales.