Vetting a Private Money Lender

[Donna Hutchinson]

I am in the process of vetting a private money lender and I want to make sure that it's not a situation that sounds too good to be true.  So I need help with the following:

1. Is a down payment typically required? 

2. The origination fee, Personal guarantee insurance,  Hazard insurance and 5% down payment required prior to loan disbursement?

3. 5% interest rate (annum)

I've read some forums where you don't give any money upfront because of scams so I just want to be sure that this isn't one of them.  I'm not familiar with this individual and found him on bigger pockets.  I don't want to assume that just because I found this information on bigger pockets makes it legit. Any help would be appreciated.