You can, if the property genuinely works as a second home, and your plan to make it your primary residence may actually improve the answer. The down payment difference is real. A conventional second-home purchase starts at 10% down, while an investment property starts at 15% down for a single unit and 25% down for a 2-4 unit. Pricing changed meaningfully, though: the FHFA directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise the pricing adjustments on second homes substantially, and lenders tend to pass that through as a higher rate rather than as points. Confirm the current second-home pricing, since these adjustments get revised. Lenders also want a second home to make sense as one: located in a resort-type area, or backed by another valid, explainable reason, like being near an ailing parent you visit regularly. A property you would use purely as a rental does not qualify as a second home. On your specific twist, the timing decides the category. If you are moving in on the normal owner-occupancy timeline (your loan documents will specify the window, generally around 60 days), the loan is underwritten as an owner-occupied primary residence, the best-priced category of all, and the second-home pricing hit never enters the picture. If the move is years away and the home will sit or be rented in the meantime, the honest category today is second home or investment, and the primary-residence pricing comes later, once you actually make the move. Tell us how you will really occupy the place and we can point you to the right occupancy category and pricing on a free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes).