I can't build as cheap as I can buy existing houses.  

I think he's charging me too much but, there's still enough room for profit because I purchased it cheap enough.

Sometimes once someone opens a project up and sees what all needs to be done they just want out as they realize they didn't correctly assess the repairs or as others stated, ran out of money or realize they will.We bought a "cheap" house and then discovered that the renovation was going to be much more extensive than we anticipated.

What is said for contractors goes for lawyers: Good, Fast, or Cheap - you get 2 out of 3. 

It will be a cheap home mind you, but luckily my father was a contractor and can help me fix it up very cheap. 

They were cheap and fast, my biggest problem was providing so much info for 8 existing mortgages, hoas/insurance/etc. 

It was just so cheap, we couldn't refuse.

I hardly ever see them for rent, and you can buy them for fairly cheap.

Second question: with money this cheap should i just take as much equity out the first property and sit on it while i look for another purchase? 

Swanton is a little more rural than my liking, there are definitely some cheap houses out there, but limited buyers/tenants.