Lets use 50k purchase as an example, if you put 25% down thats only 12.5k skin in the deal.

Yep - I started buying houses for under $5,000 - therein was my wake-up call - my street seminar - the school of "hard-knocks -- guess what - I survived and made some serious profits from junk real estate in Baltimore.Looking back on all those cheap houses, I guess I was fortunate to have very little knowledge and even less money - I had no choice but to learn the creative aspects of investing - I used credit cards, I did subject-to's, delayed settlements, financing companies, tax sales and foreclosures -- I was forced to learn how to fix these dirty dogs - I would get on roofs with Jack-Legs to learn how to do them myself, hanging dry wall, the art of mud, electrical and carpentry ----- WOW was I ever lucky to be unemployed with no money and a force that pushed me to achieve cash flow or equity.

The secondary markets, where I am playing, are dried up or sellers are looking for totally unrealistic numbers.

Also, I think due to the drought the past years these trees were so dry that they had no flexibility in their limbs. 

i was recommended by one of those real estate gurus to use bridgewell on a flip. the paperwork was much like a conventional loan and not based on the value of the DEAL as the guru said......2 years income tax reports, credit checks, bank statements, statement of cash in the bank, skin in the game i think they called it, and it went on from there...i finally gave upand went back to flipping hamburgers

But, there's a thousand ways to skin a cat!

That way you have some skin in the game. 

Gross rents, vacancy %, other income (lIke lau dry?)

Many neighborhoods no way for people to know what is in every neighborhood, therefore, people say deals are dried up.

We're considering doing something similar down in Augusta as a dry run for the DC area, but we also have a kid so I'm not sure how that will work.