Up front fees (outside of appraisal fees) are typically a red flag when dealing with a HML.

You typically need to be in the $400-450k range to see those rents.

Some towns even require a driver's license showing proof of address in that town in order to park overnight (impossible with MTR).

In these instances typically the lender will pay it to protect their interests. 

How is that done, is it just asking them to send you their drivers license?

Add to that the fact that private financing typically involves way less bureaucracy, with reduced paperwork and fewer hoops to jump through.

Next step is typically to file the action at the courthouse, like you said. 

I have seen a lot of folks that typically BRRRR pivot to flipping for the time being.

I can only think that this grows as we move into the typical buy/sell season.I assume that your buyer funnel is full, and a lot of people have the want to buy with a constraint or two (rate mostly) of some sorts and you're working with them to execute their purchase at the right time while working around their constraint.

Then they won't need an upfront payment for work they haven't provided yet.Also, get a signed contract, copy of the drivers license, contractor's license and be added to their liability insurance.