Commercial lenders can be found in the UCC.So, these arguments about who a private lender is can be clearly found by the process of elimination and by specific exclusions in laws and regulations.No skin off my nose if folks would rather argue about it, if a situation ever pops up where it matters, you can learn later on, probably the hard way for some.I recall an examination of a bank in Arkansas, the President got into banking by the virtue of having the money to do so, there is no intelligence test required to own a bank.

All lenders that I've met want skin in the game, which I presently don't have.Good luck.

Then you will know what their requirements are so they can lend you money.As a private lender myself I will require the following:1) 65% LTV2) fund 80-90% of the acquisition + rehab cost (they need to see you have skin in the game or 10-20% downpayment)3) they will ask you to pay 3-8 points (or 3-8% of the money you're borrowing)4) sometimes, they need someone with good credit so you can show them that in the worst case you can't sell the property, you can refinance them out5) sometimes, they will require you to have 20% reserves so you can pay for the first phase of the rehab

I know that in order to get money to purchase my first multifamily unit, I'll need some "skin in the game", ie, large down payment.

I have been in civil hearings before a judge and I have even gone to trial on civil matters, but not once was a judgement against me, my partners or any firm I ran been rendered.The ultimate fact is if the ethic mix of those living in your rentals is roughly equivalent to the ethic mix of the population in the area and you are not doing anything to try to steer that mix one way or another, an illegal discrimination claim based on skin color would be very hard to prove.

I prefer just to make the kill and leave the hauling, skinning, and dressing to the butchers.

Banks do like for you to have some skin in the game so the decision to walk away is tougher for you.

Both have 5 wheels, 4 on the ground and one in front of the driver's seat :)Don's example is a bit bigger of a deal, but the skin in the game point applies.I also suggest you not rely on ratios or rules for rents to a purchase price to base a contract on, you need to learn how to put a pencil to an offer.

This forum post involves a chunk of cash that is unrelated to those business plans, and is basically more of an experiment in snowballing an investment fund.In Portland or Los Angeles, 20k is going to get me skin in the game on a hard money loan to flip a condo in a low end neighborhood that will net me a 5k profit in 2-3 months.

The point is to give people an out while still making sure they have skin in the game.