Don’t wait and save until you can buy your dream home. Real Estate finance is set up in favor for you to buy primary residences. These loans require lower credit scores and less money down. If you want to own multiple properties, then your first purchase should be an inexpensive condo and then as you work your way up to nicer properties you just keep holing onto the ones you previously purchased and turn them into rentals.
Buying multiple unit properties is also a really great way to help you qualify for more on your purchase than a single-family residence. Part of the rental income from the units can be added to your income to help you qualify. You can live in one of the units and rent the others out to cover most of your mortgage. FHA allows you to buy multiple unit properties with only 3.5% down payment. This is huge when you consider that investment property loans require a 25% down payment! For Example, if you buy a $400,000 owner occupied 2-unit property you can put down $14,000.
If you buy it as an investment you would have to put down $100,000.
Given our current tax laws it is very difficult to save $100,000. If you keep buying owner occupied properties, you can use less money down and keep building your real estate portfolio by holding onto everything you buy.