A long lasting water leak will ruin ANY floor no matter the floor covering.

Why invest your money in something that's just going to be ruined.

You ruin the carpet in a room, you replace it for that room, not the whole house.

Darn you, evil flippers for ruining it for us.I remember last year when I still had my mortgage company an account rep from a local bank came in with all these flyers about getting a business line of credit.

If the tenant did any damage or ruined the carpets then the owner has to pay for this to get repaired.The owner is taking all this risk for $58/mo.

If nothing else, maybe you could go let it out  a couple of times to avoid having it ruin your floors.  

If you search the site for "private lender vs hard money" you'll come up with a number of threads that discuss the difference, here's one https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/49/topics/72685-private-lender-vs-hard-money-lenderFrom a borrower perspective it's all about the cost of money (points, rates, terms) and the risk level (will they foreclose on you, will it ruin your friendship).  

I don't know if I will be around next year given I'm a Round 4 cancer survivor but believe you keep living, and in REI, make choices that fit your goals and make sense to you.Take care and best of luck,Erich

("There's no way they can ruin this now!")...

Our vacation properties (and the many I manage for clients) all have unique nuances that if not attended to will ruin the guests experience and/or the property.