Hard-Money Lender explanation?

[Mitchell Mahnken]

Can anyone explain to me the concept of using a hard money lender on an investment property? If someone wanted to purchase a condo in a beach town and had X amount of dollars to put down but that amount was not enough to cover the cost of a conventional mortgage down payment. Can you have a hard money lender cover the rest of the down payment? Or do you have to have the hard money lender finance the purchase price minus the amount being put down by the investor? Any advise on this would be a great deal of help. Thank you!