Theyre expensive, but you wont lose your home to foreclosure unless you move out, stop paying taxes/insurance, or fail to maintain it. 

Beware of the towel barThis has to be the number one thing in rentals that gets destroyed.

Private money may be cheaper, but may be more expensive if they are doing something that most hard money lenders wont do. 

I'll loose a lot less money and sleep keeping the property empty for another month than renting to tenants that destroy the property.And your statement regarding must rent to the 1st qualified applicant. 

This also allows for property owners to more easily write-off assets that get damaged/destroyed as the value of these assets is determined as part of the study.

I had tenants that stopped paying rent for 2 years in NY during the pandemic and we couldn't kick them out, i've had tenants move out and leave someone squatting and NY made it impossible to evict them so I had to pay them off, i've had tenants destroy their apartments before they moved out (maggots in the fridge, flushing their kids toys down the toilet etc) so i've dealt with real difficulty.

Sub 30k houses are an absolute disaster with a tenant pool that will destroy your properties and make your life miserable.

I'm concerned that the delay is because of the holidays and I wont' be able to get the tenant out until the beginning of 2025. 

If you're a newer investor, unsecured private funds will most likely be your best option, however it wont work for a simple buy and hold.

Who cares if their feelings got hurt, your investment got destroyed.