Is your family here interested, if your they are your boots on the ground then maybe you could get them to have skin in the game too.

When someone with long-time skin in the game talks with others who have skin in the game ("The Wealthy Barber" or BiggerPockets), the source is informed (and credible) and the information is worth my time to investigate further.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wealthy_BarberMy barber in Pensacola has been investing for a few years and tells me he owns three homes (I know he recently sold one for a nice profit).

It's super intimidating but we're trying to get some "skin" in the game.We're going to be attending our first BREIA event on Aug. 1st. 

Buyer's agents hate it, but we both need to have skin in the game and that's the only way I can make it happen. 

You are basically sending your risk capital to run their business and they have ZERO skin in the game (basing this on the fund I was in.) 

If you did, instead of a gun, you'd probably carry around hand-sanitizer, a defibrillator, and sunscreen, as the flu, heart disease and skin cancer are tremendously more likely to kill you (about 40 times more likely) than you being murdered.

But let's not forget- it's the seller's free choice to accept a contract with such minimal earnest money that the buyer wouldn't have a shred of skin in the deal.

I say be comfortable in your own skin.

In my opinion, anyone that would abandon their pet is a worthless waste of skin!

A private lender or hard money lender may be necessary as $19,800 won't be enough to buy a house outright, but you will have some funds to use to put skin in the game in case your lender requires it.