He made a lot of money and the developer is the “hated” villain but my initial protege knew what the land was going to be used for.  

As much as prices have increased, comparatively you still get A LOT for the money.

Many Realtors will suggest purchasing a property using a FHA Loan, to reduce your out of pocket money.

Probably going to be a check.Smart contractors are starting to understand that convenience matters to customers and being able to take different methods of payment can help them collect their money.

Pricing higher than a bank ( if you can actually get a bank to lend you money in the first place)2.

If that investor hadn't planned it carefully and re-invested that money into the property or even the purchase of another then a recapture fee would hit them hard. 

And honestly it boils down to money , thats the bottom line .

You won’t make your money back.

Caulking a bathtub for a plumber is the easiest job he could charge money for, short of charging to lite a pilot light on a furnace or water heater.  

In the Bigger Pockets free book, "Real Estate Rewind", as one of the 11 co-authors I wrote about one such Tax Sale purchase and made money but not enough money to warrant the risk involved.