He has recommended people, but they have failed to respond as well.

What's the cost (in $ and headaches and lost rent) if you don;t fix it and it fails when you have tenants? 

Unfortunately, most small landlords and especially DIY landlords fail at this causing problems in eviction court.  

Unfortunately, this contractor failed to obtain the necessary final inspections for the job and has since left for Europe, leaving the project unfinished.I understand that this contractor has also left multiple other homeowners in our community in a similar predicament.

They will need it anyway for financing.Lease options are a common tenant scam: bad landlords asking 5% option fee for 12 months knowing that the tenant will likely fail to get financing, then kick them out by non-renewal and do it all over again.

The reason for the fail determines where you can place the loan.

GREED - This will push Better Real Estate much higher - IT NEVER FAILS.

Quote from @Emory Clayton: Cosigners are screened just like any applicant, but they have to meet different criteria to ensure they can cover the financial side of things when the tenant fails.

We’ve been tossing around the idea of converting one of our bedrooms into a gym (treadmill, weights, bench, etc with towel and water service).

They failed, worse I have seen.