It'd be best to cut all the expenses you can and save up enough cash so you have significant "skin in the game" or even fund the deal yourself. 

That stuff is no skin off of my nose, so however it got fixed was fine.We ran into the problems when we were on the exterior, and she dropped her head at one point and said that she had forgotten to check if the gutters were being maintained.  

If I try to stitch something together without ownership, it will fall apart because people sense that I don't have skin in the game.

All of my apartment complexes are in Macon, Ga where I see double digit COC returns, but they do take tougher skin to deal with the property/tenants.

I tell him he doesn’t have any skin in this game and he needs to stay out.

If your numbers are on point, you shouldn't be worried about you being stuck with a house you can't afford.So to provide you with value and ACTUALLY solve the underlying issue with the problem you have you simply need to put skin in the game.

In theory you could approach the neighbors before going under contract but they will take your inquiry more seriously if they know you have skin in the game.

I suggest an aggressive principal pay down so they can have skin in the game.

Quote from @Rodney Menendez: @Peter Dukaj yes we are still finding lots for around $19k in Lehigh Acres with no issues for construction  still a soft market and utilities are going to run way more than public sewer and water taps. it all ends up being the same. 40-50k for a lot no matter how you skin the cat. plus all the site work required for those lots is more than double what a traditional infill lot requires in miami or columbus for example 

The one thing I'm short on- this mythical 10%-30% "skin in the game" that everyone wants to see before they fund your project.In SoCal, where I'm from, houses start out in the $350K-$450K range for 3 BR entry level homes. 30% of $400K is $120,000.