[icemann427]

Obtaining mortgages for personal/primary residences are easier, cheaper, require a smaller down payment, and fall under less stringent qualifying criteria than do mortgages for investment property or secondary homes. Generally, to qualify for a mortgage for your primary residence, you are agreeing to reside in that home for a minimum of six (6) months. With that being said, things happen in life and there are allowed exceptions to that rule when certain life events occur. There are primary mortgage borrows who do take license with those rules and exceptions, though, since many mortgage holders don't usually check on the status of the mortgagee's.

If you were to purchase a rental/investment property prior to purchasing a primary residence, mortgage lenders, generally, only give you 3/4 credit for the generated income as a credit to your income/debt ratios in qualifying for the primary home mortgage. So, that is something to think about. While there are exceptions, 20% down to qualify for a secondary home/rental/investment property is the norm. Depending upon the purchase price of the home and your income/credit qualifications, you can qualify for a primary residence mortgage with as little as 3%-5% down.

If you are a borderline qualifier, it would be wise to obtain a mortgage for a primary residence, first. Subsequent to that, you can rent out that property, obtain a reliable income stream from that property, and then purchase another home using the new home as your new primary residence, which once again, would give you preferential mortgage qualifying treatment compared to a rental/second home/investment property.