When investors lose they do not publicize but they made out with a profit they brag. 

The public records will show the total amount of the loan, but not the outstanding balance so they won't know if you are leveraged or not.

If I am following this you have a current mortgage that you wish to pay of with a hard money loan before securing a new mortgage to pay off the hard money loan.

@Jon Dorsey - You will definitely still be profitable at $2M albeit less than you may want.Are the utilities public or private?

If you bring me one I will allow you to shadow me through the process of acquisition rehab and sale / and or securing permanent financing.4) Don't know much about lynn.

Haven't spent much time in the neighborhood, but there is low crime compared to the rest of Chicago and public transportation nearby. 

I'll be splitting the building/land using the public record county tax ratios, but I'm not sure about the initial total to use.Possible options are:Property value shown in the public record (same place that has land/building split visible)Amount shown on the appraisal that my lender orderedAmount of money I put into it all (effectively sale price plus all the fees I ended up paying)Amount shown at the bottom line of my settlement statementWhich of those is correct?

The only "technology" I might consider offering is a security system if a tenant really felt unsafe, though they can easily get their own.

A "deed of trust" is a security instrument. 

I have a lot of friends still in the area and a great property manager that only charges 7%, so it feels secure.