Also, just because you will be renting to S8 tenant does not reduce risk.....yes the tenant may be on a voucher and it will cover 70% at the least of the rent but the tenant quality will be low.

We have offered to allow her to pay a reduced rent for the first few months as well but I am worried that may create some sort of limit on how much we can raise the rent on her in the future.

Licensed with permits ~$3,250.HWT standard gas single family low efficiency without exhaust retrofit $900.Sand and stain hardwood floors, natural stain $3 per sf.Paint interior walls, ceiling trim and doors 3 tone paint scheme 2 coats $3.20 per sf (floor area cost includes paint)Click lock LVT flooring install overlay inclusive of prep and quarter round $4.50 per sf (materials and labor)Asphalt roof installation 3/1 - 800 sf bungalow with 2 layers of shingles - ~$7,900Standard porch cap replacement with 2 new precast concrete steps ~$2,500Used stove or refrigerator delivery and install $350New stove or refrigerator delivery and install $HD model specificUse this as a general guideline. 

If the project is in Canada then I would look to an attorney that understands international law as it could be more complex.Personally for something along the lines of what you are doing I would look to partner with another developer vs trying to raise the capital as that will be less labor intensive.

Hi, pre foreclosure in all of its permutations, before the bank sends Notice of Default (NOD) or efter which is state even county dependant but often starts a 4 week clock till the trustee auction are the 2nd most difficult deal scenario and IMHO only experienced investors should bother, the 1st most difficult deal scenario are bidding at the court house steps on lord only knows what is being auctioned off sometimes even 2nd mortgages, you need to do so much home work to attempt to reduce your risk at the court house steps...Pre foreclosure no one talks about these issues, always about the nice sounding stuff like "motivated seller" get a good deal etc etc both are usually not the case.- 95% of folks in pre or post NOD want to stay in their house, keep their house inspite of them 100% will loose the house at the auction. 

Quote from @Michael Challenger: I have no qualms with hard money lending, but I need to learn more about the process and structure to these for typical deals so that I am more comfortable and in a position to reduce my personal risk and risk to investors as much as possible.

If they put things in a dumpster you aren't paying for someone's labor to do that work. 8.

Hotels are the baby of real estate investing and running a business.Unlike any other commercial asset class, hotels are extremely labor-intensive to run but can spit off ridiculous cash flow.

Does anyone have a template or method that they use in order to screen tenants effectively in order to reduce the risk of non payment and damage to the property? 

We have had to reduce nightly rates 30% just to get bookings in my area which is Port Saint Lucie, Fl.