The loan does need to be secured by the property being improved if we are talking about a personal residence and personal itemized deductions on Schedule A.

Some hotels actually have a condo like structure, where people can own the units, but perhaps are limited on their personal use to only a certain amount of the year - the rest of the year it is in the rental pool managed by the hotel.If numerous room owners stopped paying their bills, you could get tax liens on numerous separately owned units.Hotels are a tough business, an issue I also see come up with them often is that they require refreshes, expensive and relatively often - at least once every 10 years, if not more often. 

The purpose of marketing is to attract an in-person showing.

Many banks limit personal loan amounts.

Of course it can be written for a single property, a single day etc. there are work-arounds, but needing something in writing prior to any showings probably annoys some buyers.

When all the dust settles, and the  person searching is tired and discouraged and gives up, Jerry may not have bought  a single lot, but he's made some money from the training he sold you, which was his main goal from the beginning!

I would say the same for employees who need say a second advance on their wages (we allow one).I am willing to make a personal loan if an employee really needs it and you could consider doing it that way with a tenant in need.

The best way to learn about how to really invest in real estate is to read books, listen to good podcasts, and pair that with going to in-person meetups so you can see people just like you, married with 3 kids, who are making it work for them.

Quote from @Elizabeth King: I have a property in my personal name that I plan to rent annually. 

Single family house, which required smaller down-payment and little cosmetic repairs.