I would at least stage for the your pictures. 

I've done some research and thought Campton, Waterville Valley, NH area would be an ideal location for all season rental.I'm nervous not being able to find renters to cover the mortgage.  

Without seeing any pictures, my guess is, if the fire department said it's not habitable, there's enough restoration work that needs to be done and filing a claim with your insurance company alone is not enough.

And work on that cover story!

BP has some deal calculators you can use to at least help paint a picture.    

So here's how it played out in my head.1) Get a loan from a Hard Money Lender for $120k.2) Find five properties for $100k or less.3) Use $100k of the $120k loan to make the down payments and keep the other $20k in reserve to cover closing costs and any minor repairs needed for the properties. 4) Get the properties rented out and within six months to a year, refinance the properties to pay off the original lender.Now, on paper, this idea sounded really good and I assumed it would be feasible. 

Also,  I cannot for the life of me get a profile picture uploaded. 

Know your resale value before you step into any purchase and make sure it will cover your expenses - including realtor fees, property transfer taxes, etc if you'll be selling it in a year or two - and then include the profit you intend to make too.I'd also encourage you to research mortgages from an investor's point of view. 

Instead, we are putting this out, with proper contingencies (inspection, appraisal, financing, etc.) to give confidence to the seller that you intend to buy at your stated terms, barring any unexpected hurdles covered by your contingencies--which can ethically be negotiated should they arise. 

You did not hold out enough to cover the vacancy and probably not enough for the repairs.