It can be "little" down or "someone else's money down" but don't make the mistake of thinking you don't have to have some skin in the game.

What's your skin in the game?

You will grow thick skin quickly.

My skin is in this game. 

Hard money works, but it’s pricey for new investors, so I led with credibility: a simple one‑page deal story, conservative numbers, my skin in the game, clear exit, and consistent updates.

I'll look more into hybrid/segmented special assessments.You'd think lenders would be mostly okay with these, since while it's true that only a portion of the units are responsible for repayment, the loan amount itself (their risk/skin in the game) is lowered by the same factor (slashed in half in my case).I know this is silly and I probably won't go down that route, but part of me is thinking, "I'll be the lender myself - I'll give them a less predatory (but still win-win) interest rate - if anyone has to collect interest here, why not it be me?"

This is the prospect's skin in the game. 

The most immediate take-away from this site for me when I first started posting on here was needing to develop thicker skin.

Fix it fast: lead with a crisp one‑pager showing deal, numbers, security, and payback; put some of your own skin in; state risks and how you mitigate; then give consistent updates.

That idea that you can do real estate with no experience and no skin in the game was the beginning of the cycle we are watching now.