In most cases it is the duration of occupancy by the investor annually, often as little as 2-4 weeks per year.

They all want to simply buy a certain number of full payments and then revert them back to me once their duration is fulfilled.

@Dave Foster is on point with it more of an intent rather than duration of hold.

Look at what the numbers when taking into account average annual appreciation and rent increases for the duration of the time you plan on holding.- Factor in another 8-10% for property management sometime down the line so that you can see what returns, if any, you can expect if/when you've moved out of the property.This deal may make more sense if you're renting out bedrooms and can get your total rental income to about $3K/ month while living in the upstairs unit.Please take this with a grain of salt as I am not licensed in or familiar with your market.

In my state we can insist on one month's rent plus security deposit (1.5xrent max) ahead of time.Employment:  Employment duration is variable- I'm ok with a new job as long as the previous one was steady and somewhat long term.  

As long as you have relatively good credit, a source of income, and a strong calculation of how you'll manage financially through the duration of the project, a reliable lender will be happy to fund your projects.

In talking to her, I got a vibe that she is not well mentally.I am concerned about insuring the property for the duration of the eviction process,  specifically for liability because it seems like the laws put you in a catch 22 where you can't get on the property to maintain it yet they would hold you responsible for any dammages if they were to occur.How does one protect against this?

The other thing that may make sense - but may not, based on the short-term needs of potential users - is to use a PM that is willing to guarantee income for the long term duration of the contract.

It’s highly unlikely any lawsuit will go so far as piercing your limited veil protections.However, it’s the simplest of downloadable loan template forms to simply document the parties, the amount, terms, duration etc.  

I have two people interested in helping bankroll a project and I was thinking more of one of them puts in x-amount to fund the construction and in return they get interest only payment for duration of loan say 24 months and then when I refinance the properties they would get a set % return on the money they loaned me. % could be negotiated based prime rate + a few %.