The primary reason for this is to make sure you are putting skin the game.There are programs out there that can drastically reduce your down payment (FHA and USDA are two that come to mind), but I have no idea if you can use them for what you are looking to do.Hopefully, someone else will post who can give more insight into those programs.Best of luck though!

If I could go back to considering my first, I'd say if you have friends/family that have enough $ and you are confident in your ability to BRRRR (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat) then you do not need to worry about fronting the cash yourself (except maybe a portion to show you have skin in the game).  

The entire process has been frustrating at times and exciting most of the time, but overall the process has been satisfying after seeing the transformation from a 1960's cookie cutter into a more modern, contemporary ranch that any generation would love to call home.

Hunter, you need your own skin in the game for any lenders to be interested in parting with their money to help you achieve your real estate goals.  

There's a million ways to skin the RE cat (so to speak). 

However, what sets off alarm bells is that, no only does the syndicator have very little skin in the game, he is paid first.  

This is where thick skin (which I had to learn over the 8 months) and hold money even through the begging and the story telling.

One way is to have the borrower bring some funds to the table so you have some skin in the game.

Lots of ways to skin the cat.

It'll force you to find better deals, because of the added cost, and it'll force you to have some level of added due diligence (professional appraisal / inspection) and they have skin in the game, so they're likely to sort of walk you through the process, if that makes any sense.