an out of town, rehab, investment that you could not oversee may not be ideal in my opinion...you would be relying on the kindness of strangers at so many points .... but I really like the spark of interest and I would really try and nurture that and you may find it leads you to your first home or investment....

If a stranger did this while no one was home and stole their television, no reasonable landlord would ever think to charge the tenant for the cost of the door. 

Keep it professional when dealing with family just as if it were a stranger and keep their payments coming in like it were clockwork.

Plus if your not really versed at RE it can be a little trying.. and of course strangers coming to the home etc..

I am sure stranger things have happened though.The other question I would have for you is when you say "can I refinance" what timeframe are you talking about.

If a Buyer is just working with me, I will pitch what they are looking for at the MLS and Broker meetings, I will find FSBO sales, I will advertise to Sellers, I will send out mailings, I will call strangers.  

But I feel like I just gave some stranger a free 10k remodel.  

Private lenders are people you know who believe in you and trust you, and who invest in your real estate projects because of that.Hard money lenders are business people, initially strangers to you, who invest in your deal because they believe in the deal, not you so much.I think you will have a hard time finding one who will go 100 percent LTV (loan to value).

Now that you've posted your first post, and committed to moving forward. don't be a stranger here.

I'm no expert, but i'm learning daily, so don't be a stranger if you have questions.