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.

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.

Then add 9k in closing plus whatever skin you are putting in (20%= 60k).

Just a different way of skinning the REI cat.

Once you have skin in the game you will learn super fast.

If you are a newbie, a private lender like myself wants to see some "skin in the game," even if it's your grandma's money or a partner's money.

In general, lenders want to see-Skin in the game-Ability to repay the loanTips:Be able to provide as much detail about the deal as you can (budget, property history, rent roll, future performance, etc)Be able to highlight your strengths as a borrower even if you don't have a lot of experienceAlthough Davian, I would advise against taking a loan from anyone who doesn't check your credit. 

If you are aggressive, you may not care about any of this, and it may be considered a plus to you.In my opinion, another of their big weaknesses is that they have virtually no skin in the game.

You can find lenders on Scotsman Guide and Private Lender Link:https://www.scotsmanguide.com/Residential/LenderSe...https://privatelenderlink.com/Most lenders usually lend up to 75% LTV on 1st TD... some will go up to 80%, 85% even up to 90%.For the remaining 10% to 25%, Lenders expect you to bring that yourself as your own equity / "skin in the game."

Its funny that i just spoke to someone at do hard money and he said the $3000, $650.00 of that goes to the evaluation of the deal, sending someone out to look at it and the remainder is skin in the game which is refunded after the deal is successfully done.I don't understand how the representatives of DHM who responded above failed to mention that.