Does it make sense to seek a non-recourse loan for 25% down or proceed with a regular loan of 20%, lender of which says it will be a non-recourse but they can't put this in writing and they will sell the loan to another loan company and thus can't guarantee that the new loan owner won't change it to a non-recourse.  

Here are two quick and dirty ways: for the lowest interest rate get a HELOC on your home.Since it's a 5 unit you're facing commercial rates and are playing in the big leagues of financing which means you need a seasoned entity combined with personal guarantee for the lowest possible interest rate.You can buy a seasoned entity online (make sure it's in the same state) that has a 80 or higher credit score, move the entity to the property address, change all the credit lines to the new address, transfer the property into it, and get your credit score to 720+.Apply for a commercial loan if you don't want to go the HELOC route.

Olivia, I can offer a few helpful tips on this based on recent research and rule changes. 

Staying on top of where the deals are is challenging as it can change quickly but right now I’m seeing good deals in the West and Southwest areas of Fort Worth.

In these type of situations it’s best to play by their rules and make an offer you are comfortable with and not change it when they come back asking for more or telling you they have multiple offers.

I do this all the time for investors trying to save money by using their own purchase agreements for off market transactions, and it saves a lot of money because the attorney will simply review it and recommend any changes for a very small fee.Truth be told, I've noticed that escrow companies prefer the standard CAR form that Realtors use, and I've had troubles with escrow companies trying to interpret custom purchase agreements in the past. 

@Mounir Semia I looked into this a few years ago so things may have changed and I may remember incorrectly, but I think US Bank did 90% LTV and Huntington did 90 or 95%.

The only thing I would change is having a written handbook for after the fact.

But that was changed with the new tax code.The good news - Your friend can still 1031 exchange the land and building portion for other investment real estate of any type. 

A change of the HOA to $300 (which is possible and still good for the loop), would wipe out all profits. my 2 cents.good luck