Yes there are Executive Orders restricting what we can do because of the Scamdemic but there is still a very large pool of tenants out there with good jobs and good intentions on paying rent.

Per Minnesota's Emergency Executive Order 20-14 on Page 2, Item #1:Beginning no later than March 24, 2020 at 5:00 pm, and continuing for the duration of the peacetime emergency declared in Executive Order 20-01 or until this Executive Order is rescinded, for property owners, mortgage holders, or other persons entitled to recover residential premises after March 1, 2020 because a household remains in the property after a notice of termination of lease, after the termination of the redemption period for a residential foreclosure, after a residential lease has been breached, or after nonpayment of rent, the ability to file an eviction action under Minnesota Statutes 2019, section 504B.285 or 504B.291 is suspended.

Apparently the seller's mortgage is with a small independent office and their staff was really disrupted by this.

It's a great way to build wealth when executed properly.Be aware though that hard money may involve you coming out of pocket for either some of the downpayment or rehab costs or both. 

I can see this is well played in the financial planning and execution, especially in a 6m turn around time. 

@Kelly Beasley If 50/50 gives you the confidence to commit to the plan and execute, then 50/50 is worth it.

Here are some of the strategies that I see people executing successfully here in CO: --Starting off with a condo.

What you are experiencing has nothing to do with your screening process; it has to do with the already pro-tenant local/state laws on the books coupled with the executive orders that governors/mayors have proclaimed in these pro-tenant areas and the public messaging these elected officials are producing.  

Is it common for a hard money lender to ask for a title report before executing the contract?

Even with franchises you'd have different pm's or staff dealing with over different areas.