How to get a loan in this situation?

[Zantiago Zurita]

hello everyone, I am in a weird situation and would like some advice.  I'm looking at a property that needs some work. My real estate agent spoke to a lender about this house and the lender said that if it's uninhabitable (which I don't think it is per the definition) or if the appraisal comes back lower than the asking price (asking price is half of the value of the home if it were fixed) that I would not be able to get a loan from a normal lender. Without the loan, I can't purchase the house (don't have that much cash). Has anyone gone through this situation before?  Is going with a hard money lender my only option??