Advice on hard money for first flip

[Brandon Bellino]

Hey! Hoping I can get some advice on using hard money for my first flip. I am 22, and about to graduate college. I have managed to save a little bit of money, at the end of the year when I graduate I will have between $30-40,000. 

What I want to know is - given I have no track record, what are the requirements hard money lenders will hold me to in regards to things like credit score? Does it have to be in the 700s for you to even qualify? I have no bad marks on my report, 100% payment with no debt, but a short credit history so my score will probably be somewhere between 650-700. 

I know when you use a hard money lender, generally people will usually borrow the money to do the actual rehab. I would really rather avoid doing this, as from what I've read it can be a hassle dealing with construction draws and I want to keep things as simple as I can for myself in the beginning. Would I be able to instead borrow the money to purchase the house, and then use my money to do the actual rehab?