That way you’ve got some skin in the game, and the tenants will be less likely to protest that the other tenants are using more electricity or gas.

I don't know your skin thickness but know I do it with love and care for your improvement, there is no insult meant by any of it but fact is we all gotta suck, learn and try again before we get great, right. 

I would guess that you have little or no experience running any kind of STR, and now want to get that experience on the back of someone else's investment, with little or no personal skin in the game, and that's not a good way to build an investment portfolio.

So you will need to have skin in the game.

I think the more skin the buyer has in the game the better off the seller would be. but a $100K note with $6500 to reinstate and $15K in repairs?

Note that I do not put a lot of time into due diligence until the "contract to hold" meeting, when they put some skin in the game.At the "contract to hold" meeting, I collect an amount equal to one month's rent.

As a 3rd-party real estate consultant that has no skin in the game other than what I charge, I provide exactly what you've described—unbiased, no-nonsense, and straightforward advice.

The lenders simply are not interested in financing a deal where the buyer has such a small amount of skin in the game.If you don't mind, can you touch on how you were able to obtain the type of financing structure that allowed for a seller-held 2nd mortgage? 

I have not reviewed BAM's fees but it's likely based on their representation of UNDER 10% "skin in the game" that most of their "investment" is taken from fees deducted from the money gamblers place with them and counted as equity in the deal; this is a common practice in the syndication industry. 

Many sellers will not accept this since they are in second position, and it is very risky since if you default (higher probability for investors with no money and/or no skin in the game), they will most likely be wiped out during a foreclosure.