I believe Alexandria city allows it but portions of Fairfax county do not allow it. i would go option 1 personally. 

In my experience, allowing these professionals to guide you can be highly beneficial, as they are likely to recommend properties they would be comfortable managing.

While none of these options allow for immediate cash flow on the property (we are on the northern CA coast) the ARMS would allow us to break even.

If I did this, I could then transfer the land to my LLC or allow the LLC to lease the land from me for the storage facility2.

Are pit bulls even allowed in your area?

Careful going outside state lines -- contract for deed is not allowed in Texas.I didn't think COD is illegal in Texas, just perhaps not recommended anymore, because it is difficult to comply with the rules or regulations. 

I think the before vs after pictures really speak primarily to your experience and ability to execute a project so it can help lenders gain comfort with future projects and allow you demonstrate what level of detail you except out of your contractors.

The issue I see with your $500 allowance is that in some seasons they will definitely be seeing a big cost.

Allow things to play out, unless the buyer closes sooner.

There are several lenders that will allow 90 day seasoning or less.