I want to buy a duplex!

St Paul, MN: I get a first-time investment buyer phone calls all the time. Seems like when it is a buyers market, everyone want to be Donald Trump Jr.

OK, so what is my #1 question? How much do I need for down payment!

Buying a duplex, triplex, or quad isn't really overly complicated on the mortgage side. You basically have two options:

1) Are you going to live in one unit?

If yes, then you can potentially get an FHA loan with as little as 3.5% down payment.

2) Is every unit going to be a rental?

If yes, then your down payment options are more expensive. Basically you are going to need 20% down. You can usually get a better interest rates with even bigger down payments.

Of course there are many other factors that come into play. Credit scores are a great example, as is trying to get a mortgage if you already have more than 4 mortgage loans.

While 20% down payment is a lot of money, the investment in rental property at today's prices should realize you double digit returns... and that is a LOT better than the banks are giving you to leave it sit in their vault!