With your focus in using house hacking, Conventional or FHA loans would be your best options.

I guess my only other option is to add padlocks onto the cash boxes on top of the regular keyed entry.

good area to buy. would love to discuss if you are looking for financing options

If you have equity and decent credit, a conventional Fannie Mae HomeStyle (or the Freddie Mac version) would likely be the better option instead of an FHA 203k loan (which will require a 3rd party HUD consultant to oversee the deal in addition to having the contractor involved). 

I feel more at ease losing this deal and finding my client a better option.

There are a lot of options out there.

There's definitely the option to start on Shopify and then move to something more customizable later on. 

The reason why I ask is because that could determine what loan options are available to you (and interest rates). 

I was looking for some advice (viable target areas in Cleveland or Ohio in general, financing options and credible PM/realtor contacts) from the experts here though especially if you are in a similar boat as mine (reside in Canada/Ontario area and invest in US). 

That will start to tell you if rentals are a feasible option for you.