A week into the job he was still demoing an 1100 square foot row home in Philly. 

I talked to a modular home company in my area, and he said to build a 4 / 2.5 2200 square foot home would be 215k, and then foundation and utilities would be another 160k.

If you are trying to come up with a way to finagle the occupancy requirements while using an amazing loan (that you earned based on your service) like a VA, I would say you are starting off on the wrong foot.

It may be harder to find that type of property in a rural area with acreage, but it's a way to get your foot in the door as an investor and also have a place to live. 

This is a "foot in the door" asset type!   

I am just beginning to get my footing. 

I like the midwest (I'm from Milwaukee) but there are great linear markets here with solid cashflow and less volatility.Flipping homes?

Example value of a standing teak tree is $1 per board foot.  

Now you have an approximate value per square foot. 

IE its common in so many areas that the 500k home in Wis sits on a 75k or 100k lot and 300 to 400k is the cost to construct say at 150 to 200 a foot..