1st hard money deal

[Alexandar Parev]

Hi,

reaching out to the more experienced hard money lenders in this forum.

Recently I completed my first hard money lending deal(I am the lender) to a company which is flipping houses.  We concluded the deal with a Promissory Note and I sent the money to the escrow account. The loan is backed by the house that will be refurbished (as stated in the promissory note). 

However, how can I:

1) Make sure the lender has indeed used the funds to buy that particular property?(does the escrow agent send me some form of confirmation?)

2) How do I know I am indeed registered as a lien holder ( I understand I need to get hold of the trust deed from the County Recorders' office. If so I live outside of USA, so can I do this online)?

3) Where and how do I check if the property is insured?

4) Anything else that I have missed in order to make sure that my first lending deal has been executed properly.

Thank you