Also, its cost in marketing and getting the right person in.

Look at their marketing strategy.

It's smart to invest now and be prepared for any market changes.  

Hard Money is for suckers" is copywriting designed for you to want to get in touch and put in a loan request so they can sell your info to me and I can hopefully close your deal.In my marketing, I often use "Hard Money" as a blanket term for Real Estate Investors because its a widely know term, thought its rarely understood.There is good and bad to all things, including Hard Money vs Private Investor...It seems like you're giving up half your profit.I would think its worth paying a a bit of a higher rate and being able to keep 100% of the profit on some of your deals.I am happy to discuss further.

Just state in your marketing or listing that the other side of the unit is rented out for midterm stays of 30 days or longer.

Given the state of the stock market over the last few years, I'm looking for a way to invest in certificates to gain an interest rate higher than what banks are offering and returns that higher than the stock market right now.

You can even get better with CDs and money market with no risk.  

In todays market, they are most popular when purchasing a larger bundle, needing flexibility on a bundle (lower purchase prices being allowed for example), or when cross collateralizing equity as downpayment. 

If seller financing is an option, you may be able to get hard money for the rehab, then cashout refi into a DSCR or Conventional investment loan when complete and take it straight to market as a rental.

In an article I read Michael Galpen of B of A says the housing market is stuck til at least 2026 if not longer.