In terms of new construction, a couple things to be aware of in San Luis Obispo County are water shortage issues and development fees/taxes which can significantly increase the building costs.SLO city and the neighboring cities are particularly diligent on their water usage, as most of the county's water supply comes from three surface water reservoirs and a groundwater basin.

It sounds great on the surface: use a 0% APR intro offer on a credit card and then pay it off when you sell/refinance the property.

Your thought process on the contractor providing quotes to possibly "win" a job may seem correct on surface level as a lot of businesses offer "free-mium" products - but ultimately time is money, especially in real estate where good contractors are in high demand and could better spend their time finishing a project before accepting the next one. 

Obviously this is an overall average but on the surface these numbers describe a typical West Philly, Olney/Ogontz, or cleaner North Philly deal, which from my experience make up a majority of the inventory available around that price point.What are everyone's thoughts on the health of the Philly market?

It has surfaced in the annual rents and vacation rentals.

You'll want to test the paint surfaces for lead.  

At the surface level, it does appear that you would have to pay capital gains tax on the profit.

Also grading the surface to force surface water to run away from the foundation even just a few feet can make a difference.

Bottom line is ON THE SURFACE there doesn’t appear as if there’s enough “ meat on the bone” to make this one worth it.

So, congrats for thinking long-term and more than just the next step to take.On the surface, purchasing, fixing, living in a property and then renting it out to do all over again sounds like a good strategy.