Is 20% down required to buy an investment property?

If you are using rental income based off that investment property to qualify your application and immediately rent out that property, then yes you would require 20% down.

However, there is a way to put only 5% down.

While there is no time restraint at which you can move into the home and then eventually move out and rent the property, simply purchasing the property with the intention of moving in, you can qualify with as little as 5% in certain circumstances