I found a deal, but don't want to commit my money - suggestions?

Does this title sound familiar? It seems to be all over BP these days, variations of which read along these lines: "Hi, I'm a wholesaler/investor/flipper/insert your title here, and I have found this smoking deal. The only problem is X; do you all have any suggestions on how I might mitigate X without using any of my own money?" 

Sometimes I think that whoever told people that real estate is a free game should be marched out back and shot! People without any of their own game in the game are dangerous operators, as they are willing to take risks and gambles with OPM (other people's money) that they would never consider doing with their own funds. 

I believe the problem lies partially in the idea of leverage, an investing tool that is prominent in real estate but rare (and often illegal) in other forms of investment. It seems that the idea that you can use leverage - OPM - to purchase assets otherwise unavailable to the average Joe has given rise to the thought process that one can work RE without ANY of one's own money. 

What these individuals don't realize is that there's almost no leverage that is going to absolve you of having some of your own funds involved in the transaction. Even with the BP "BRRRR" strategy, it generally requires seed money to purchase and rehab money to bring the property up to standards before you can attempt to retrieve that cash through a refi. 

At the risk of sounding like a stodgy old investor, I believe it is the duty of responsible investors to discourage this type of thinking - not only does it artificially inflate the real estate market through deals without sound fundamentals, it cheapens the experience as a whole for those who see REI as a legitimate vehicle for long-term wealth creation, rather than a "play at home" endeavor for those looking to actively avoid working.