We have a burning desire to be financially free; to not be dependent on wage paying work, and to use our money to glorify God.

Gregory, Invest some time in your real estate investing education before investing money and risk burning bridges with any business partners.

What protections are available for someone like me who is doing all the work, against the possibility of being "burned" by someone who may initially network as a potential investor, but once they realize the potential, decide to cut me out of the process and do the entire deal on their own?

Too many and I burn up more land than I should. 

Cons are that yes, it's still interest (if you have regular cash to burn that doesn't cost any interest) and that maybe you'd get a somewhat lower interest rate if you did a cash out refinance on your own home, but even then you'd be spending money on closing costs and wouldn't have nearly as much flexibility.

Explain that the delay is costing you money as you can not rent/resell or whatever until the house is done.You will pay him more than you planned, but if he truly is under estimating and does good work, it will be less than the time lost finding another contractor or waiting on him.And finding a good contractor who can list these old houses is someone you do not want to burn bridges with. 

Our new cabin was just built last year as the previous cabin on the lot burned in the fire back in 2016.

@Sean Abrahamsen I haven't insisted on exclusive buyer broker agreements or charged retainers yet, but I've seriously considered them.To this point, I've taken the @Kenneth Donaghy route and depended on providing expert advice and treating every client like they were my own Mom or Dad - but boy oh boy, have I been burned by it.I have put in an awful lot of work with both retail buyers and investors, only to have them turn to dust for one reason or another. 

I think young people are more likely to take risks, either because they’re naive or they figure they have time to bounce back if things crash and burn.

Throwing furniture off the third floor balcony,  vomiting all over and not cleaning it up at all,  vomiting in public areas,  breaking stuff, stealing stuff, and the straw that broke this camels back,  BURNING their initials into my 1 month old carpeting.