I want to get skin in the game and have feelings of FOMO waiting, but at the same time it feels like I could be rushing into a headache all at once. 

As long as you're showing progress and adding some more skin in the game, most Sellers / Brokers will give you a short term extension as Commercial deals are trickier and take more time to close.Hope this helps! 

But it’s a reminder that “buying at the top” with minimal skin in the game can hurt when the market shifts, even slightly.Early signs of trouble or short-term noise in specific metros?

@Chris Seveney, I’ve seen the same: anything below 1.0 rarely gets over the finish line unless there’s serious skin in the game or a story that makes the lender comfortable.

But my favorite sponsors aren't from here.I'm a conservative investor, so when I invest in multi-family I prefer sponsors that have at least one full real-estate cycle of experience, little to no money lost, low leverage, and high skin in the game.And there is a multi-family operator that has multiple real estate cycles of experience (decades) and it's track record claims no money lost in that time.

Having skin in the game is better than having no skin in the game.

Lets get on a call and discuss your options Fix and flip can be a great way to make some cash if your able to do your own work which it sounds like you did but not having any "skin" in the game is a tall order,  lenders are going to want to see your own cash in a deal 

For the down payment, most hard money or private lenders will want you to have some skin in the game — usually around 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price, depending on your experience and deal strength.Always budget extra for closing costs too.

Brandon We work with several but they will not typically go above 60% of bid to make sure you have skin in hte game. 

For a first-time flip like this, having some skin in the game is important, and a lender can then cover the rest.