Now the situation has occurred that we need to rent the house out in order to help pay for his long term care expenses. 

Conventional 20% down.

Once the project is completed, the plan is to than refinance into a conventional mortgage. 

Are there other more creative ways to start cash flowing in year one Be careful because federal mortgage fraud and going to jail is a real thing.

Be careful.

If the numbers make sense, which usually equates to 10% or better cash on cash and roughly 1% rent to price ratio in an area that has appreciated well recently, I don't care how far I'm away from that market, I try to buy there.

So whenever the buyer wants to refinance or sell the property my lien comes up aswell and that's when I'm taken care of? 

Is this pocket a value oriented area (most sq ft per dollar of rent) or will they care more about proximity to highways, retail, walkability?  

That would take the pressure off Tenant A and let Tenant B know you care.

Beyond carefully vetting the tenants, how can an investor protect themselves from squatters if we want to sell years down the road?