If an agent doesn't know numbers find another agent, that one isn't a specialist.  

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

I am not saying they don't exist but I have never heard of any HML that doesn't want you to have some skin in the game.

But there may be some other ways to "skin that cat" as are discussed in the threads.

Most hard money lenders will want you to have skin in the game.

I was talking to a mortgage specialist about my plans to start buying multi-family assets on the commercial loan side and he reminded me of a typical 3 year seasoning period before I can refinance.

It was a great summer project, but totally not worth it:- my trench was wider than necessary, so I had to haul off dirt and bring in twice as much stone- there is a ton of manual labor lugging dirt in buckets and I don't have accress to guys who will do this all day for $15- it took much longer than anticipated, over 2 months instead of one week (could have just waited for one of the major contractors)I am not a rookie when it comes to this type of work, but the bottom line is that a specialist can do the job so much more efficently, that they can make a profit and still charge less than it cost me (not even calculating my own time running machines and supervising the rest).

The reason I mention the mortgage is because then I would still have some skin in the game.

Obviously for your first deal or two, the lender may want you to have some skin in the game as well, but that would be discussed by building a relationship with those people, plus it totally depends on the deal.

My agent (that had no skin in the game on this deal) calls me to ask how the transaction is going.