IMO, that is house hacking into a newish multi, and leveraging the lender's money by taking advantage of 3.5-5% down payment. 

Following David Green's Core 4 strategy (realtor, contractor, property manager, and lender) gives confidence to invest anywhere.

Your lender that financed this project told you not to put any money into it? 

The property taxes stay with the property and neither lender would be responsible for them, the new owner would.

Your payment is the same every month and the lender will collect more interest in this format because the borrower is paying interest on the entire loan amount from day one.

More important is the equityMany people will overpay to get a home on seller financing then realize they overpaid and cannot refinance because a lender may want 20% equity which could be a tough hurdle to overcome in the future if prices stay stagnant and you have a balloon in say 5 years.

It seems like a hard money lender typically a private individual or venture firm) would be the only route to go since they are a little more lax on lending requirements than a conventional lender.

The lease (with the current college students) was just renewed through their 2025 school year.I'm trying to figure out how to make this happen with little-to-no money down, as I have other 'irons in the fire' at the moment.I'm planning to offer $400-450k for the home, and am trying to structure something where a conventional lender would loan an amount that would be covered by the current rental rate (lets just say $300-350k)...   ...then, anything outside of that amount, would be carried by the Seller (for a short while)...   ...Seller financed with a ballon in 5-years?  

Also should I get prequalified from a few different lenders to see my options?

Many lenders will not do a DSCR loan unless cash flowing.