I’m looking at Condos in my area in the $250k range, pulling $22.5k out of the 401k to buy, but was considering (if possible) a hard money lender for the other $40k (for 24 months) to avoid pmi (which is $270)My Questions are:Are there hard money lenders to stay away from?

I was trying to avoid having to manage them myself.

You can try to 1031(to avoid capital gains) into a DST (no hassle) or buying a bite size NNN property which has no landlord management(but the potential for vacancy and releasing).I like the private money route, especially if you keep the LTV low, although I'm not sure many would go for 60% at a private lender rate, but worth a shot! 

This material in the $2.15-$3.50 per sq ft is expensive … I guess I should avoid the ones priced under $2?

Have a plan for your charges, making on time payments, and paying the balance off within a quick amount of time to avoid costly finance charges. 

Are they trying to avoid capitol gains taxes? 

Yes- electronic payments are the best way to go in most cases- avoid "check's in the mail" excuses.

I'm Joseph (from Athens, Georgia) and found BP when listening to a ChooseFI episode 312 where Scott and Mindy discussed their book First-Time Home Buyer: The Complete Playbook to Avoiding Rookie Mistakes last April (2021).

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There are other loans available which avoid the company financials as mentioned above.