Try to anticipate other potential avoidable situations with a follow up inspection to assess the Locksmith’s work and ask your tenant(s) if you can also use the time to assess for other issues such as unchanged HVAC filters, leaky pipes, working shutoff valves, working smoke detector batteries, properly working downspouts, clogged dryer vents, evidence of water damage from leaking roof, etc,etc,etc.

Like accidentally leaving the car light on in the car and having your car battery dead in the morning.

houston is probably similar pricing to Columbus Ohio but way worse zoning laws. we take 20% on top as a GC and a guaranteed fee agreement. our contracted new construction projects recently:Single family new build spec home: 1513 square feet with 3 beds 2.5 baths 1 car attached $275000 approx $182 a square foot if calculated using heated square feet which means our cost is $145 a square foot. 3 unit / triplex new construction: 2008 square feet 2 bedrooms 1 bath per unit or total 6 bedrooms 3 bathrooms with 3 off street parking spaces. contracted build cost $395,000. no garage on this and better economies of scale with shared roof, slab, etc. $192 a square foot hard cost with our cost running approximately $157 a square foot. 

What are your thoughts on hard money lenders for spec builds?

The best setups have:5-11 members (ideally 6-8).1 bedroom per member.1 bathroom for every 3 members.Look for properties with these specs:6-8 bedrooms.2-4 bathrooms.Ample parking (street or otherwise).Detached houses fit this formula beautifully, but other property types can work too.

We have wanted to flip homes, rentals, and or do spec homes.

I have answers to a few of your questions while I’m sure spec builders here can chime in on their end for you. 

New builds-broke even in the '08 market on two spec homes, built my own home from the ground up twelve years ago(400k in equity). 

Prices are up in our market but the discrepancy between prices, similar specs, and actively listed is weird.

the electronic keypad locks so don't have to deal with keysbut keep in mind batteries need to be changed like once a year