I never stopped to think what if I lost my earning potential to garnishments or lay-off which I did and could not finish the project or I misjudged the transaction as a gain not a loss which it was, in which case I may have lost my only $10K I had as extra or expendable money throwing me out of the business into bankruptcy which it did.

One filled chapter 13 bankruptcy 2 years ago because of 2 years unemployment.

The large number of bankruptcy filings are not helping.

Or the borrower can declare bankruptcy to delay things.

Make a list of questions that you deem appropriate; when do they need, how many persons to occupy, what is their budget, any pets, have they ever been evicted, have they or are they currently in bankruptcy?

The average American hovers 30 to 90 days  from bankruptcy.

We have occasionally done double deposits on tenants who had job losses/bankruptcy but had gotten back on the right track with payments and new very high paying jobs (in the aftermath of the financial crisis).One of the issues the OP has is that if you get the number too high for damage, they might find themselves in front of a not so friendly judge.

I have a list of dismissed bankruptcy leads for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

Seeking to provide more aid to troubled borrowers, House lawmakers on Wednesday advanced legislation that would enable homeowners to shrink their mortgages in bankruptcy court.http://www.fool.com/news/associated-press/2007/12/12/house-committee-approves-mortgage-bankruptcy-measu.aspxThis would push mortgage rates up and make home ownership more difficult for most Americans.

The orginal homeowner filed bankruptcy and turned the property back to the mortgage company.