She says she just "walked away" from it when her mom died. 

Pro tip: walk through some turnkey properties and establish for yourself, What is a good renovation and what is a bad renovation and see if you and your partner agree.Being on the same page with your partner is extremely important to the success of your business and partnership.

We are wondering if choosing a home that's walking distance of the BeltLine can serve as some level of insulation since there are no good schools in or around the Westside.The main question is - will those areas actually develop as planned or can it go backwards?

You should always have it walked by your GC BEFORE you put an offer in.

If the property is not a total gut or vacant land I do not see how a ground up construction loan would work in this scenario @Robert Ellis, you mind walking us through this to provide some insight. 

They can walk in to a local branch with cash or personal check, or pay via ACH bank transfer online. 

There's great hiking, walking, biking on the Swamp Rabbit Trail up into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

For these types of questions - it would make sense to start by getting some quotes and term sheets from actual hard money lenders (larger companies, found via google or the directory on BP) - can still do the private money - but these terms they give you can easily be the starting point - and you will likely get a lender to walk you through them for free anyway

@Wai-Ming LauMost contractors will not give you an itemized bid while walking a property.

This seems to be impossible to do if you can't walk into a bank in NJ.