Typically hard money is a loan on property valued well above the amount you need to borrow. As a lender he would just need a deed to secure debt or whatever you use in your state to secure a loan.
Most hard money lenders will lend up to 70% of the value not based on your credit but based on the value of the property. If they have to foreclose they have made 30% on the money or probably more like 20% because of the costs involved in foreclosure and resale.
