Bob, my neighbor who had the 80 acres next to me believed his property ran to "that thar ridge" as he was swinging his shotgun in the bend of his arm.

If you do not either get him on board with your thinking or take control of the landlord decisions you may not be partners or in business for long.When a applicant does not meet your basic criteria you reject them you do not bend to make them fit.

With that said, your acceptance criteria are there for a reason, as you start to bend and flex, the possibility for risk and issues creeps in.

Hi, I am looking for some local hard money lenders in the south bend/Michiana area if anyone has any recommendations. 

I will PM you shortly about your advice if you don't mind me bending your ear. 

renting to a friend is a more comfortable option than renting to a stranger, but there is also a downside to mixing business with friendship. make sure whoever you pick wont play the friends card and ask you to bend rules or pay late etc. also, do not do it without a lease, and i suggest only offering month to month

But I'm from Bend and down there quite a bit.

You are the owner and have laid out the rules, if you start bending rules or offering incentives they are just going to ask for more or something else just to do what is expected to be the norm.

@Jeffrey Allen, Typical remodeling costs in Northern Indiana around South Bend/Michiana area are $26 sq/ft +/- $2 dollars.

It is unlikely that you have 20A wire and they put in a 15A breaker.Reason.. thicker wire is harder to work with (does not bend easily..) and makes installation of those blue boxes for outlets more difficult.