Not sure if thats driving it.

. - if you need two stairwells and an elevator, that will of course drive costs way up and it also eats into your floor plate area and can crush layouts on a smaller building, possibly turning your small CMX2.5 lot you'd planned to build 5 stories on into what may as well be a CMX2 lot and allow only 3 stories, since you can't actually fit 2 stairwells, an elevator, a hallway all the way through from front to rear, a small lobby, a mail room, etc.

That will drive prices up. 

At some point, you have to get behind the wheel and drive in order to learn. 

Some people are comfortable driving a clunker car others want a status symbol vehicle of some sorts . 

Driving by dollars How did you finance this deal?

I did a local renovation where I was onsite at least once a week and I went over budget by more than $50,000 but because California properties appreciate or at least hold their value.If you can find a way to invest in the LA area or within driving distance you have a lot more control than buying 2000 miles away and doing a renovation from far away.

(Why don't they allow us to post a counter-argument????)

Impossible to tell which would benefit you most.I have found that lenders value the house in different ways; one is a full appraisal and the other is an automatic valuation…my credit union did a “drive by” valuation.  

It's a 15 minute drive from the main highway (i.e. not the most RV friendly drive).