Would you lose a large chunk of money?

I don't see why the seller would accept such a large haircut only to have the asset sold a few months before.Am I missing something obvious?

I've been told the hard part is finding a builder who's willing to build without me paying a large percentage upfront.

. :)  I live in Oregon, but invest in large SFH in Arizona. 

I'm seeing renovated inventory sit, then trade well below list in a large portion of the ATL metro. 

I see tons of revenue figures from small and large STR investors in my market.

In terms of getting into apartment complexes and large transactions - it's much easier than you think.Real estate is filled with opportunities to deploy capital, but in the same time is filled with fast-talking snake oil men that will happily take your money towards a "fund" so you own a portion of a large portfolio... only to find out the fund's performance is below par, your money is locked out, and the only person making money is the fund manager from the management fee they've locked you into. 

A large background in a subdivision located in a cul-de-sac.

And they are easier to get than a conventional loan also. 3A)There is a lack of 'traditional tax benefits' to a large degree when investing with a retirement account as far as saving on your yearly taxes.

Switching online services is unfortunately not an option because the large majority of house seekers use zillow.