Otherwise, weigh your options with estimated vacancy and remodeling time, but how you may be able to mitigate losses longer-term with the higher rents you'll presumably be able to collect with new tenants. 

The Federal Trade Consumer’s Bureau of Consumer Protection stops unfair, deceptive and fraudulent business practices by collecting reports from consumers and conducting investigations, suing companies and people that break the law, developing rules to maintain a fair marketplace, and educating consumers and businesses about their rights and responsibilities.In all other industries consumers are able to rate the performance of service providers and potential investors have a right to have these insights.

For example, their rent is $2000, they pay me $1000, I then apply the $1000 to the renovation project, which they estimate to be around $8,000.How should I write up the lease agreement as far as collecting the rents?

I do recommend something to collect rent that is NOT check, Venmo, CashApp, Zelle one day one.

I remember even during Covid we sitting pretty collecting all of our Section 8 rent checks.....The County Wake housing authority blows the big one.

This is what I think I know:- The borrower can choose to pay off the note at any time (by selling the property or just paying off the loan with other funds), so it is important that the legal balance covers my investment and some profit- The borrower could file bankruptcy (can someone confirm that this will only cause delay, but not jeopardize ultimately collecting the legal balance of the note)- Most of these DOTs will have a rent assignment clause, so I could try to enforce that and collect rents from tenants (essentially manage the property) while I am holding the note and trying to foreclose.

If they fail to pay, then you can consider taking them to small claims court or filing with a collection agency. 

So close to 2 full years to obtain optimized rents.Your maintenance/cap ex is far too low for the long term.  

This PM will be trusted with the accounting, collection, and transfer, of tens of thousands of your dollars, or more.

Most people do not realize when someone liens a property its just a lien, but to collect on it they must file a lawsuit to collect that money which will cost them 5x more than what its worth.