Please keep in mind when you do identify a lender that will take on vacant land- they will price the deal at a higher interest rate and will keep a low LTV to minimize their risk. 

When you decide to move out, having multiple units minimizes your risk of the property becoming completely vacant.

@Paul Ewing , what they recommend is buying a house at a price you can afford to also fix up enough so that you have minimal maintenance.

The horror stories are minimal, and if you trust yourself enough if things get rough to figure it out, you will. 

If they do charge a fee it's typically minimal and meant to cover the costs of the meeting room, etc.

However, the IRS defines Passive income—or unearned income as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) calls it—is income that requires minimal effort to obtain.

You will get the experience, guidance, and minimize your risk.

To minimize audit risk, it’s advisable to choose “Other interest” instead of “Mortgage interest” when reporting.Part 2: Forms 1099-INT from Investors to Private LendersForms 1099-INT Explained: Similar to the interest earned on savings accounts, Form 1099-INT outlines the interest that must be included in taxable income.

The scary thing is that I've been researching tax liens for months yet didn't come across anything about this case until today, so I expect that a lot of other investors are in the dark.

The goal is to maximize the income while minimizing the outflow.