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.

The short answer is I look for 9% min and try to press it to 11% with those strategies along with rental increases once improvements are made and the tenants know you actually care about the property.

Check with a few local credit unions as they usually have the best HELOC offerings.

I don't charge security deposit or move in fee nor do I care about credit. 

They do free sign up with 100 free credits so you can try them out.

I am still very active in my local market as a host of the WWL Home Improvement each weekend.

I am optimistic that things might improve with this change, but I would not pay again just to find out.

The more lead credits you purchase at once the more you save.

Knoxville has some good ones like First Tennessee, Pinnacle Financial Partners, Y-12 Federal Credit Union.

We've lived in over 10 homes while raising our 3 children that we improved and sold.