Do you plan to further develop the agent side and turn that into a full time thing?

Also, a contractor may not be the best person to develop your scope of work! 

Your development deal will look much like a flip in the eyes of the IRS since it is 6-9 months as well you'll have the short-term side of taxes, not the capital gains taxing on it.  

BTW, your "criteria" are likely just "rules of thumb" you developed (which is great!)

I invest out of state in Pittsburgh from DC and self-manage everything, but it's taken me years to establish the right contacts, develop seamless processes etc. that allow me to handle everything remotely with confidence.

Best bet is likely (not absolute - everyone's situation is different) is to look at a national lender or broker that has options in lots of states - its a great development versus 20 odd years ago, with technology, internet, places like this - can have access to many more options than before (local broker or lender thats it)

They're already there and given the holiday season, probably the traffic is light, so you can chat then up for 10-15m about the area, rental class, as well as any remarkable developments in the area that would positively impact that home/area. 

Austin metro keeps expanding. Jarrell is planning on a population surge of 50,000 new folks. Jarrell is on the north side of Georgetown and within the very fast growing Williamson County. That shows the growth pattern...

The Economic Development there is focused on building competitive regional talent, diversifying the regional economy, transforming Montgomery's image and building diverse community capacity.Major economic drivers to the area include Hyundai manufacturing, Maxwell & Gunter Air Force Base, major Amazon distribution, Alabama State Capitol, Alfa Insurance, Kinpak, H2 Pharma, Dollar General transport/logistics, Dow Chemical, and Conner Industries to name a few. 

Here are the playersMe - OwnerOG Developer - Original Developer that improved property before I purchasedNew Developer - New Developer currently building a new subdivisionWater District - Own the vacant land that my sewer line runs acrossCity - Well, The cityTimeline:2007 - OG developer purchases large 1 acre lot with an existing house with the intent to subdivide and create a small PUD.2008 - Improvements are made (new street, sewerlines, storm, power, water) are brought into the subdivision.