If so, perhaps the seller would be willing to put some skin in the game in exchange for a waiver.

I really can't think of a way that you could purchase this property w/o some skin in the game.

There are many ways to skin a cat (no offense to cats) so it is all good.

You aren't going to be able to find someone in preforeclosure a new house with your realtor license, they cant get the loan.You better have a thick skin if you are going to call preforeclosures and say "I hear you are in foreclosure, can I buy your house for less than its worth?" 

But in my opinion, you don't need as much money to acquire a property to hold, where as flipping, you need some skin in the game or OPM.Great debate and arguments here on this thread - Very proud of most of the input from our multi-dimensional community. 

VA only guarantees I think its around $104.25k (check for yourself), which is 1/4 of the total eligibility, but the banks working with VA are comfortable allowing you to use that guarantee to take out a much more expensive loan because the main skin in the game is covered by that guarantee, but the way the VA eligibility is used is on a percentage of the property value.

The availability of private money will depend on a few factors: a) The value of the deal (i.e. is it a real deal) - from the lender's perspective; b) Your track record with the type of deal (i.e. if it is a flip, how many have you done and what have been your margins and timelines; if it is a buy-and-hold, then how many similar properties are you managing and what are their operating margins; c) The loan you seek: How much, how long, what's the exit strategy, & how much of your own capital (skin) do you have in the deal.

This way you get to earn and learn because you have some skin in the game.David H.

Having money in hand ("skin in the game") is going to get you better rates, help you access more financing options than if you have non, and is going to make you work harder and smarter because we're always more careful about spending our own money.

I think you need to have more of your own "skin in the game".