What is the alternative in our market?

Like Drew said, owner financing would be a good alternative for that if you could work out a good deal.

The plan is to eventually refi this property with a conventional loan and cash-out to continue with additional property purchases.You're doing a very smart thing with the house hacking technique.

It is advisable to do your due diligence and ask about such things as how long have they been in business, are alternative assets their sole focus, are they BBB accredited and rated, are they a regulated financial institution, have they ever been sanctioned by any regulatory bodies, how many accounts and how much in assets do they administer?

Have you or anyone else here ever used this or a similar technique to find property owners with lots of equity?

I use an alternative solution but always love hearing about the experience of others.

An alternative is to partner with your Mom - she provide the downpayment, you provide the property management - and "buy out" her portion over 2 - 4 years.

Alternately you can get a floor AC that you can roll around but if it stays cool maybe you don't even need it. 

You will get everything from a glazed over look to stupid statements about the legality of techniques. 

I know there are alternative fees that come along with condos.