Purchasing tools, such as an email domain, proves you have skin in the game.

My skin is crawling.

Being a landlord mean being thick skinned, being able to be objective, and to some degree having to be 'the bad guy" sometimes - not everyone is comfortable taking on these roles - best of luck to you - I'm looking forward to seeing how all of this turns out. 

There are more than a few ways to skin a cat, but to some extent the market will tell you what the optimal strategy is, if you just know how to listen.

I say ok, I think I can come up with say 10K to get "skin in the game" which should cover the 4 points easily on the type of deal I am looking at.

My advice is to pass on this one if:-You are not 100% comfortable of the numbers independent of his-You do not have an understanding of your agreement together and his obligations are spelled out-Your agent has more skin in the game other than commissionsYou can always pass on this accepted bid and re bid when the property comes back on to give you more time to gather information. 

If you have the house first, only you have skin in the game.

At this point your realtor has got some skin in the game.

They are taking a chance because you have no track record, so they will want skin in the game (cash down). 

Nobody wants them, and you don't want to be one of the many that learn on their own skin & pocket why!