You typically don't want to do any renovations before the 2 years is up...just basic safety and securing the property.#4. 

She only received social security income, no other income.1.

Quote from @Grant Schroeder: @Ruchit Patel definitely reverse mortgage or an asset/equity based loan!

For investment properties you should be using private/hard money lenders, but if it's a primary or you have a long window of time to secure the financing then traditional may be the way.Overall, it should be easier to get approved via creative financing though as there are options and workarounds for nearly every scenario (they just may cost more the more creative you need to get).

It can also be a professional company that uses private money to do loans, and gets investors, as opposed to government secured loans.

Granted, the investor would be making less profit, but the profit they do make would be more passive because I would take care of the stress of the rehab.  

a are a vacant house, the minute its mine I change out all locks and secure the premise.

I don't think you can use GoFundMe or Kickstarter to fund real estate investments (but I have never tried), and there are many securities laws you would need to be careful of if you went that route.Basically any asset you have a value is a way to gain access to the downpayment money.That being said, the question comes across that you are very new to real estate, specifically the various ways to finance deals.  

Quote from @Grant Cox: I've been under contract on my property since June 25th, and underwriting received all of their info on July 1st.

Granted you could do it yourself and save close to half that.A PM can save you money by giving you the right suggestions for unit turnovers to increase the rent and yield more.