I would just say the biggest red flag here is "anything sounding too good to be true" - whether thats a hard money interest rate well below market, or 100% "no skin in the game" financing, etc. - those are the biggest red flags here IMO

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

I'm looking to get some skin in the game.

The new skin on the forum looks great!

You can't beat that. http://www.bankrate.com/finance/mortgages/getting-va-loan.aspx#slide=1I don't think you have enough cash on hand to really do a flip right now (I don't know how much you'd need because don't know your area but I'd imagine CT is not super cheap) Yes, you can use a hard money lender, but they'll want you to have a considerable amount of "skin in the game" especially on your first.

Your skin in the game is your time, effort, and expertise in doing the deal.

Dwight,We have been looking for hard-money in CA, and have not found anyone willing to do the types of loans that make sense - even at 70% LTV with our skin in the game.If you come across anything that makes sense, please let me know?

But all of them require you to have skin in the game.

I have found that the vast majority of PMs in the area are skinning their homeowner clients every chance they get. 

Figure we'll do a couple house hacks to get some skin in the game!