Please tell me you didn't pay them any money upfront!

It offers more flexibility and you're only paying back what you use.Another alternative would be a business line of credit.

Getting a W2 job is always a good option that makes it so you can pay your bills.   

I keep seeing posts about HB 24-1098 which severely restricts a landlords ability to evict non paying tenants or restricting folks on rental assistance from the government.  

As for renting, going cash flow negative isn't great, and your home isn't likely to appreciate as fast as it would if it was a single family home, so holding with hopes of increasing appreciation may be a verrrry slow play, but if you can afford to hold, having a tenant pay down your mortgage is an additional great benefit to real estate investing. 

I'd say your best strategy would be for a furnished rental either listing on Furnished Finder, Airbnb 30+ day stays, VRBO, or some of the other listing sites. 

If you have a lot of equity that you can use for the next property, that’s a great way to build your portfolio, make sure the potential rents would have no problem paying the mortgage.

A simple Bi-Weekly with added payments can pay off a mortgage in 10-12 years.This strategy allows you to pay more at your own pace having a failsafe unlike a 15 year where you are obligated to pay more every month.

On my existing units most prefer to pay cash.

Either way...costs have SKYROCKETED in the building material space...people who are building at such a low fee are likely their own GC and not paying themselves properly@Alex L. - What prompted the purchase of the lot?