I wouldn't recommend hard money for a first time flipper (just personal opinion) even though the speed and ease of the transaction may be appealing, too many things can go wrong on your first 1-3 flips that you really haven't encountered yet that could slow your liquidity event and cause defaults or costly extensions.

There’s this guy in my area, has his hands in almost every apartment in the region, keeps owner financing them to others for  ridiculous prices.. everyone who takes a bite defaults 5-10 years later, he takes back the property and does it all over again.

@Dominic Ruegemer It would be 1/10,000 that a lender would allow you to "take over" the first mortgage in default. 

You would have a first mortgage and a second mortgage with the first to be paid back first in the event of default, it shouldn't be an issue as long as everyone knows where they stand, but make sure you consult with an attorney especially if there are investors and not just lenders involved as there are more regulations in that realm.

You also need to understand your risk in the event of default on the loan.

Or even have a button on the final page that takes me to the right place to make these changes rather than defaulting to the beginning?

The city wants good landlords, so they help out with all sorts of useful information, including the differences between a 12 month and a month to month and how to evict in either case.You need to look at the terms of the lease to see if they put anything in there other than the state law default.

If I can find someone willing to put 5-10% down for a wrap mortgage with 3% more interest than I'm currently paying, and have an attorney experienced with these types of deals draw up a contract that states I can foreclose on them if they default.

You can not default on your parents loan regardless of what happens in your life.

I didn't have a problem getting a judgment and collecting on it in Virginia a couple of years ago when I had a tenant default on me.