As others have mentioned it is a trade off.  

So far 100% of the time I have gotten tenants to vacate by explaining the consequence without paying $0.01.   

He needs to be a manager, organizer, motivator, and educated in the trades and he has to give a you know what about the finished product of your job. 

You want an accountant who can help you strategize and who is responsive when you want to know the consequences of the financial decisions you are making throughout the year.Good luck.

You’re buying, trading, or selling a physical asset.

Until that happens, with either scenario, a way to increase your cash returns could be to buy EDV, it's a Vanguard exchange traded fund that holds 20 year and 30 year zero coupon US Treasuries, such that whenever the 10/20/30 year bond yield goes down, its value goes up.

Quote from @Dekota Oechsle: As someone getting started, what trade-offs are generally sought after for a seasoned investor to mentor someone? 

Consequently, you can now just pay for the MLS without any association membership by finding a Thompson broker  Use Google to seek these & other ‘MLS only brokers’ in your state. 

What's holding me back is that I am a risk manager by trade, so I tend to think in terms of mitigating potential risks.

But per lot it will cost roughly the following:$1,500 Electrical poles, meter installation $2,000 water taps and connections$5,000 grading and land prep$8,000 septic installation (assuming a 1:1 ratio of homes to 1000 gallon septics)$5,000 down payment on each home ($700-750 / thereafter per unit)$21,500 total set up x 17 = $365,000Ongoing expenses after development would look something this for POH model: $12,750 a month in mobile home mortgages (17 x 750 for PITI on each unit) $1,900 a month in land mortgage PITI (house) $3,000 a month landscaping$2,000 a month in reserve emergency fund$2,200 management$21,850 a month total expenses $262,200‬/yearOngoing incomes after development would look something this for POH model:$27,000/month ($1500 x 18 {17 mobile homes plus house})$324,000/year324k-262,2k = 61,800 net pre-tax profit or $5,150/month.Opportunities to reduce start up expenses: Bulk deals with the government or contractors for doing all the work at once (electrical, water, land grading, septic) Trade free rent for someone to mow and landscape (turning a $3k event into a $650 event every month).