If I was in your situation, since you say there are repairs to be made anyway, I would say it's not a bad option to get a hard/private money loan to pay off the arrears and do the repairs, then do a cash out refi in 6-12 months to pull your money back out.

@Ilona KovacsI've been teaching & coaching for 8+ years now on all things Self Storage - buying & operating an Existing Facility, Development & Conversions, and Raising Private Money too.As there is a fine line on how much self-promoting one can do on this forum, please either PM me or google my name on the internet. 

On 7/28/18 I got a letter from her stating she was not returning my security deposit of $2,100 due to repairs the apt required.

Syndications require a private placement memorandum (PPM), which can be costly and usually only make sense on larger deals. 

I don’t think I could qualify for lending through a traditional lender so I need either private money or a hard money loan.

No biggie, I'll just add it to an itemized list and take it out of their security deposit. 

A duplex will usually give you a private yard and/or private parking.

Does someone have any recommendations for lines of credit, new construction loans, or private/hard money lenders.

The current owner says the current tenant must have done that and that I should take it out of the security deposit when the tenant moves out.

My question, as this is my first time leasing a commercial space, is what is the average security deposit to ask for on commercial leases?