Philadelphia has implemented various forms legislation over the years between abatements, land banks and density bonuses geared towards promoting development in areas that suffered from disinvestment and housing affordability challenges with some legislation having been more effective than others. 

If you’ve ever wondered how to invest in real estate without breaking the bank, this could be the perfect starting point.What is House Hacking?

Talk to a few local banks and get preapproved - the best financing will be for properties you choose to occupy, so I'd recommend getting something with at least two units.

I'll post updates here in case anyone wants to follow along.We syndicated in the states to fundraise enough for architectural renders, entitlement, legal, and to pay off the land. 1/4 of total funds required have been deposited in our bank account.Convinced a world-class architect to do luxury design for us.

Do you just do a typical loan/mortgage with a bank and use money in your savings account to put a down payment.Just trying to figure out what is the best method to put a down payment.

The traditional carriers you mentioned are not good options in this space.  

My thought is is use the Rent Ready feature of reporting his payment history to the credit bureau so it can work in his favor as a trade line, but I'm wondering if this is an unnecessary added step since he can already pull transactions on his bank side. 

Why not get traditional financing for the property?

If you can find smaller local banks in the market you pick they may have more unique products that they keep on their balance sheet or try and do the 5% down conventional on a 4-unit  FHA's self-sufficiency test applies to both 3 and 4-unit properties.

The minimum down payment for a property in this price range would be roughly $27K.That said, you also need to account for bank closing costs, inspection costs, appraisal, attorney fee, and title costs.Your scenario may require a seller's concession to account for these additional expenses.Investing with $50K is totally possible in this market but your journey may be met by challenges i.e.