I've resigned myself to the fact that I won't be able to save enough to really rely on that as a way forward, so I'm looking for some creative suggestions (which basically rules out my credit, salary, etc.). 

Hi there - wanted to pose a real life scenario to all you creative thinkers out there. 6 months ago, bought a 3 bd/2bath house for $465k, with a Mortgage equaling to $424k (9% down).

My name is Justin, and I’m a fashion and lifestyle photographer and creative consultant living in NYC.

I understand towards the end we may need to be more creative as we are limited to the amount of mortgages in each of our names as well as the amount of primary residences in one area. 

We invest in multifamily properties in San Antonio and our last contract we had to move on within a few hours and stand out with a creative offer.

@Jay Hinrichs you mention being too impatient to deal with banks, but I think your strategy back then was more genius than you give it credit with that humble statement.

Be creative and look for value add DEALS.

I know many of you have had creative transactions in the past. 

I did 100 deals using these strategies and a collection of creative financing techniques... without using any of my own money.

I did my first after 10 years of contract creation and review, creative acquisition strategies, price comping, rehab optimization and cost estimation,  exit strategies, working with buyers and how to know who is legit, etc.