And can this be demonstrated by non-identical vetting criteria for the two contractors?

Or just tell him you've chosen Applicant B since he's willing to move in sooner.Picking the best applicant is not a violation of Fair Housing...if you can document your process and demonstrate there was no discrimination based on a protected class.

I do realize that somehow I have got to demonstrate to those whom I look to for funding my deals that I have got some "skin in the game" as should be the case.

TRID has demonstrably changed the fees disclosure games of the past.  

Several years ago, title companies began to only offer CLTA policies of title insurance to private parties due to the title statistics that demonstrate; private party claims are disproportionate to the revenues generated by private parties transactions.

Without trying to put words in his mouth, I believe he was just demonstrating for you that if a deal is good, it doesn't matter how much you put as a down payment; and conversely, if a deal is bad, putting more a down payment isn't going to suddenly make it a good deal.The key is that there are multiple different metrics that you should be looking at to determine if a particular deal is a good one.

On an SFR like this, costs should stay below $1500 - 1800 ... and that would include the transfer tax and building inspection.It the property is the one I believe it to be, taxes will be $1600 - 1700/yearThose pedantic bits aside, your demonstration is correct and why I indicated above the house would need to rent for $900 - $1100/mth to make the deal viable.

You demonstrate that every day which does make you a VERY wealthy man!

However, if you can demonstrate that Vendor's failure to perform - whether purposeful or not -  ran out the clock on the deal, you have the option of taking legal action to force the vendor to fulfil the agreement.  

Also, banks must demonstrate a certain amount of CRA lending.