You do have to have a thick skin in this game.I am buying a portfolio of properties from a guy who realized that he was so nice to his tenants he has gone broke.John Corey

They would want you to have some skin in the game.

It isn't good business to lend to inexperienced rehabbers w/o some substantial skin in the game and a significant equity position for the lender to fall back on if things go sour.

Look for those that Have skin in the game do not fall into the trap of working with West coast marketing agents that own nothing and only make a commission selling you some dog in the mid west  or rust belt.I wrote an e book on how to deal with TK companies and out of state investing if you e mail me I will send you a copy its free and non biased as I have nothing to sell .Anytime you get on BP and say you have 250k to invest you will be hounded... tread carefully and in my opinion only invest with those that have deep track records as @Brian Burke mentioned or those with deep experience as @Joel Owens mentioned  as for SFR's @Sharad M. has a lot of experience and you can buy direct from him not through west coast middlemen that will take a huge cut off the top.

Or is it completely personal as to what makes the difference between "I got my moneys worth." and "I barely pulled out by the skin of my teeth."?

It also gave me a good idea of ALL of the charges.I would like to find one that has a little skin in the game, to find and retain a quality tenant who takes care of the place and pays on time.

They want you to have "skin in the game".

That is a great downpayment, and they have a lot of skin in the game.

The "deal-maker" has no skin in the game, yet after your initial investment has exceeded 50% profit, the "deal-maker" expects a fee of 50% of your remaining profits.

You are basically offering your friend the opportunity to buy a house, which you will then use to secure rehab financing.So if I am reading that right, he has a whole lot more skin in the game than you do.You also don't mention what your experience level is.