I got 2 payments as finder's fees from a developer/builder, and they see it as a line item in their expenses, like paying for drywall.   

What Prashanth said above is true, development sucks (I've been a land broker who sells to builders for 15 years).

It is expensive building small units in single count; some of the most expensive development that exists.I have made a lot of money in RE, but it has not been passive and much of it was achieved at an easier RE market than today. 

For a new developer with no experience, I would count on having to have 25% of total project cost (if land is 150k and cost to build is 350k, total project cost is 500k so expect to put down 125k). 

I personally work with private money a ton in my development deals and most are in 2nd or 3rd position but have lots of equity and established relationships. 

Relationships are everything in this business.Our current land development pipeline now comes from relationships with a local landowners.How are others sourcing deals?

Remaining focused allows you to develop market knowledge and to build better relationships.2. 

I'm wondering because of the housing shortage if the federal government is offering some low interest loans for this type of development.

I have now developed a Revenue Stream Strategy that will cover this cost.

I was in Little Havana last month and it seemed like every block had multiple CMF being builtIt's a good area to look at and your criteria are right, I would go for that if the numbers are good: a lot is happening in Little Havana because of the Miami21 zoning ordinance, allowing developers to build more units than the ones now.