The objective:  Prevent the contractor from putting a mechanics lien on the home.3.

Failure to complete the transaction forfeits the $20,000 option fee. 

No other product can allow one to do this (HELOCs are similar in a sense but have drawbacks and limitations that whole life does not).I can tell you misunderstand the underlying mechanics of IBC yourself in how you mention credit (you're not alone!)

I think the answer is for multiple reasons: analysis paralysis, bandwidth, or just simply failure to pull the trigger.

Or "have a few good go to vendors for handyman, mechanicals etc

I am left with 2 ABS Loans, Tenant occupied property that is now in foreclosure, because since November of last year I was trying to refinance, but the loan officer I was working with made me believe that he can refinance at least one of them, resulted in a failure to get approved. 

Many OOS investors set themselves up for failure because they don't invest the time to ACTUALLY understand:1) The Class of the NEIGHBORHOOD they are buying in - which is relative to the overall area.2) The Class of the PROPERTY they are buying - which is relative to the overall area.3) The Class of the TENANT POOL the Neighborhood & Property will attract - which is relative to the overall area.4) The Class of the CONTRACTORS that will work on their Property, given the Neighborhood location - which is relative to the overall area.5) The Class of the PROPERTY MANAGEMENT COMPANIES (PMC) that will manage their Property, given the Neighborhood location and the Tenants it will attract - which is relative to the overall area.6) That a Class X NEIGHBORHOOD will have mostly Class X PROPERTIES, which will only attract Class X TENANTS, CONTRACTORS AND PMCs and deliver Class X RESULTS.7) That OOS property Class rankings are often different than the Class ranking of the local market they live.Class A is relatively easy to manage, can even be DIY remote managed from another state.

Would it be possible to file a mechanic's lien on your own property and would this be a way to discourage potential title thieves?

I also know that in many cases the llc will protect my personal assets and I fully believe this is either analysis paralysis or just fear of failure. 

We are in the Seattle market, so reality is that demand so significantly outweighs supply that on new construction you aren't really at risk of not selling, its more for at what price per sq ft it will end up selling for.But one mechanism build in is that there is a $100k buffer where he will hold at least $50k of his build fee until after house is sold.