I’m a newbie and still shopping lenders I haven’t even touched the surface yet

Once you factor in HOA fees, taxes, maintenance, etc, the deal may not look as rosy as it does on the surface.

I'm sure I would have to put some skin in the game and would be able to have a couple hundred thousand available if needed. 

They will require you have some skin in the game.If you're thinking, OK, me and the seller will sort it out after closing, don't do it.  

Hi All,Im not sure where to post this, but we are preparing to reseal a garage roof for a house that we plan on renting.We want it to be a walkable surface. 

there are many ways to skin a cat.....one thing you could do is flip some residential properties until you have 160k.

This may seem innocent and fun on the surface; however, what guidelines should we put in place to censor what get posts and what doesn't without seeming discriminatory?

Once I've got all of that cleaned up, I'll be able to see what I can scrape together for skin in the game and look for a brrrr buy and hold.

Whether I purchase it cash or with conventional financing, the banks only want to lend/refinance up to a specific LTV (usually 70-75%) on the purchase price EVEN if I buy the property at a significant discount (e.g. 50% of its current market value).In the past I've always struggled with this same issue, and thus eventually I end up tying all my capital in properties and I'm unable to purchase more (even hard money lenders want you to put some skin in the game).

There are too many moving parts, things that will surprise you, problems you just didn't see coming, things hidden beneath the surface, contractor delays, weather, etc, etc, etc.