Originally posted by @Teage Staunton:Most of the traditional bank, credit union and portfolio lender you talk to will require you put down 20-25%, some even 30-40% down, as your skin in the game.

At the end of the day you won't have skin in the game.  

Agents either develop a thick skin or find another way to make a living

As they say, there are multiple ways to skin the cat.

Here are my options as I see them: BRRRing SFR sounds great, but it will take a significant amount of time to build up enough cash flow to replace my current income.Flipping average priced ($200-250k ARV) homes sounds like the best way to achieve my current income, but will not contribute to overall wealth.Mid-sized apartment complexes sounds like an interesting route to achieve both income and wealth, but it requires a significant chunk of my own (skin in the game) capital - leaving me with little capital to pursue options #1 or #2 on the side.

On cash-out refinance now: Most banks will only allow you to cash-out 75%-80% of the appraised value, meaning that you have to leave 25% to 20% in the property (skin in the game).

But at the end of the day you're still purchasing a deal under market value and have no skin in the game.If you ask me it sounds like you're the one trying to take advantage of them; not the other way around...

They want your skin in the game, ie. cash down. 

Different ways of skinning a cat. 

I am just looking to get my feet wet and get started already, yet nervous/afraid to get some skin in the game and potentially falling flat on my face.