I specialize in small multifamily properties and house hacking working alongside BiggerPockets podcast guest Andrew Freed to help investors find high-performing deals in Central MA.My Background:  - Started in late 2019 I utilized an FHA loan to get my first 3 family property in Fitchburg, spent about a year fixing it up and soon after I refinanced. 

so you're recommending that my starting point should be finding a real estate agent, utilize theirbknowledge to learn about the process, and get referrals for good loan officers.

And there are lots of conventional loan programs where you can put down <20%If it were me, and I was committed to purchasing, I would try and land an off market property needing a bunch of work and force appreciation that way.

This is how the mortgage records a payment towards the loan.

New loan is a 10/30.

When you finance through national lenders, in your experience, is a balloon a common requirement for commercial loans of this nature or is it possible to get a fixed rate for 30 years?  

I would look at buying 5 properties using loans that have some sort of value add aspect in a market that I believe will appreciate at the minimum of the historic national average.This may be a rather boring and unflashy answer but I believe it would be the best money spent in my current knowledge and expertise.  

So for the first property which will cost over $1 mil to construct, there will be stacked loans, essentially $280K will come from loan assistance program,( the name is not correct but the same idea).

The Lender changes the loan to installment once they pull credit report for your seller, and omits it under 5102.4 guideline as paid by third party owner of prior home.

Instead of a 1 to 1 ratio, the required ratio can be 1 to 1.2 or 1 to 1.25.More on DSCR loans: DSCR loans won't use your income to underwrite the loan.