Im amid the pre-qualification process at a local bank, and heard back that the lowest down payment they offer for a primary residence loan on a small multi-family property is 15%.

The borrower outlines there plan and dates and it is set up with the LOE in the file but in most cases where the bank holds the paper/loan its sent to the credit committee for the final approval and we close. 

No ACH, no credit card.

@Tina Kapur—First and foremost, you can NOT deny a tenant because of a voucher—that's a big no-no here in Chicago...now, of course, you can deny the tenant for other reasons like credit score, income, etc.We usually do 2.5X income w/ a 600+ credit score in the nw side of the city.Section 8 has its pros and cons like anything else...the check shows up EVERY FIRST of the month like clockwork, but additional paperwork and CHA inspections are required.

I actually during the credit crisis when our PDX banks froze  ... contacted them about doing a subdivision A and D loan for me... sent docs down  but I got a pre qual letter to quick and what I thought was too easy... next step was the 10k for due diligence, being a lender myself it was just too easy...

Obviously people can get deals done with little or no money down but as a new investor I think your time is better spent getting your financial house in order so that when you go to a bank with a deal you are coming from a position of strength.I kind of chuckle when I see folks who have poor credit scores, no money saved and are looking for advice on markets to invest in. 

You’ll want to check their credit, rental history, and criminal background.

Hopefully you have other, better qualified applicants to go with or can deny this couple on something else (credit, income) so you don't have to deal with their nonsense.

We, thankfully, had a friend of a friend connect us to a delivery person, who directly picked up flooring and delivered to us, then we worked with flooring company to get a credit back on price.Or, we did Ikea cabinets, which came with both more pieces than we ordered, and not all the pieces we ordered.  

Buyer's agent could/should also negotiate a seller credit that makes the offer $100k, with $3k credit for buyer agent compensation, again resulting in a seller net of $94k.But now buyer has the opportunity to agree with their agent that the rate should be 2%, or a flat fee of $2k, and the buyer then pockets that savings.