It has been creating tremendous difficulties for showings since the property is always occupied and Airbnb guests of course are not happy about open house or potential buyers visiting.

They put more skin in the game with their own investment into the deal.

The problem we have is that we have basically no leverage whatsoever unless you have credit & work history.Like I said I'm not an expert but what I can say is that after reading, listening, and calculating is that the more skin you have in the game (capital, leverage, relationships, credit, knowledge, etc.) the better.

The owner broke the front door and propped a large slab of concrete behind it - so I had some difficulty getting in - but since I'm doing a total rehab, no biggie.

One, I'm I exposing myself too much while he has little to no skin in the game?

There are many ways to skin this cat...just have to know the effects of each and make an informed decision.Thanks for the help!

This avoids the entire fishing around for a trustworthy agent that probably doesn't care in the first place (after all, if you're a thousand miles away, there's nothing to stop them from saying the property is in a great area).The localized partner can also ward off issues with a property management company - they can drive by the property easily to make sure everything is in working order and provide easy access to the PM, whereas, you'll be a thousand miles away and unable to control things - you'd be reliant on other folks that don't have skin in the game.

I am wondering if I should partner with a contractor so they have some skin in the game.

You typically will need some money as a down payment or skin in the game (typically somewhere between 10-20% of purchase price but this may vary.

I also don't particularly like the FHA 3.5% down loans, and at least the buyer has SOME skin in the game.