This site is great, but sometimes the emphasis on cash flow, cap rates, cash-on-cash misses the point that there are other goals with real estate than purely squeezing the most money out of it.Good luck!

I would call this loaner a private individual source- with the emphasis on the word individual.

There is no emphasis placed on expenses which disproportionatly impacts NOI in lower tier assets and pays zero attention to the useful life on major systems which may be barely hanging on and in need of replacement.

Mechanics lien? 

Don’t spend time talking to them about the mechanics of what they do - that’s available anywhere.

Do you know bike mechanics?

Harder to do a background check however I give that less emphasis personally due to the fact they are paying for that whole reservation in full upfront. 

The mechanics of the deal are not too complicated, although as others have noted you can't advertise the property and then exclude people based on protected class including gender and family status....at least not legally. 

Is it the end of the world if you don’t pull them if it is truly cosmetic, non-mechanical/non-structural?

I do concur with Chad that you might want to start closer to home to learn the mechanics of the business.