Obviously someone has skin in the game, but to say that those strategies are "junk" to sling books is just not accurate. 

You also need to ask yourself the following questions:  Do you have money to invest ("skin in the game")?

Even though we have some funds available to invest (skin in the game so to speak) we are looking at about $30k in closing costs which is like another deal all together.What creative ways have you all found to cover closing costs?

They want the "skin in the game".Another note, the numbers you used in your scenario are almost the exact same numbers for the past purchase + rehab I did. 

I am not a newbie; I have skin in the game, as I am house hacking.

As for hard money lenders, they typically require you to have skin in the game, especially when it’s your first investment.

People need skin in the game. 

They have skin in the game, but are almost fully retired and don't want to deal with anything property management related.

Regarding the cash reserves- It's not about using all your reserves but you must some skin in the game.

If you, for instance, already have purchased the land and building thus you have significant skin in the game then I am sure your 2 million will stretch pretty far and you could get a sizable loan to help complete your project.