I have no experience with real estate investing. I do not live in the US, and I'm not a citizen. I went to university in the Midwest many years ago. Currently living in China - have a very stable job, decent income. H...

Work with your attorney for what is needed to insure all subcontractors get paid by the General Contractor.Make sure the insurance covers Construction period and also materials.Talk with your Commerical insurance agent and they should address the above questions with you.If this is an older facility make sure your engineering firm has covered Fire Suppression systems and any Storm pond or drainage systems. 

Wondering also if there are lenders that would have an appetite for this type of property?

It all really depends on your appetite for risk.

Give The Ultimate Guide to Grading Cleveland Neighborhoods a read to see which neighborhoods fit your appetite for risk. 

And if you are doing a short-term deal (flipping, etc.) what is your appetite for risk?

Some lenders have a greater appetite for foreign national loans than others.

If we bite off people’s heads when they admit disaster, it suppresses legitimate issues with these techniques.Just for context there is a lot of history with the OP and some of us on here going back years (like the thread I linked to above from about a year ago and several others if you use the search function with his name) with him minimizing the risks of how he was structuring these transactions and some of us being cautionary, warning him that exactly what happened here could happen, which made him defensive and dismissive. 

They were selling on pro forma, but the market and the debt market have shifted, and it's aa lot harder to achieve higher pricing with lower rents.We've purchased over 2,000 units, and the simple answer to the question is that they are either mom and pops and run their businesses with ZERO KPIs, they do not want to risk losing tenants if they raise rents, and they don't treat their asset as a business.When you take over, it can be difficult to get rents to market if they are very suppressed.

Play it smart by aligning your investments with your goals, timing, and risk appetite.