Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

I'll give you a few good ideas on what to ask, but the best thing you can do to ensure you're dealing with a credible lender that is committed to your success is to talk to other investors who have already worked with that lender.  

My only option now is to refinance and ensure the new note does not include that clause.

The question is, do you as an owner want to get the work done properly, quickly quickly, and efficiently, or are you more concerned with an itemized invoice?

for each deal they could make an 3 to 7k assignment.. with the proper backing they are making 20 to 30k per same lead by actually being a real real estate investor. what happens in many of these wholesaling / assigning contract hot spots is the competition as you state is fierce and people going around them  or they cant get it closed in time because they have no money etc.  

Looks like OP has a poorly done repair to a product that easily deteriorates when not properly installed or maintained.

Usually there are COO inspections that check for working and proper placement of smoke detectors.  

Proper Insurance has been a great partner for us, except, they will be dropping us due to high fire risk for our mountain cabin property. 

And that $3K invested properly today may knock a month off how long you have until retirement.

That ensures they have the funds available the entire month to pay bills on your behalf, close out the month, and send your payment with a complete statement.