Hi Angelica,Just adding my own 2 cents worth here from a deal I did not too long ago:I bought a prop off Auction.com about 2 years ago.

Know your market cap rate and you can quickly determine whether property is worth a closer look. 

A new build needs to perform better than that to make it worth your time, all the risks and capital concentration.thanks for the advice everyone and would be happy to connect with you: @Bryant Brislin @Dave Wells @Leilah Davis @Joshua Stewart I have been building 15 to 20 spec houses a year now for 7 or 8 years..Just curious, generally from start to finish, from closing on buying the land to collecting a check after building the house and after escrow, how long is the process taking you? 

Not sure where you are, but might be worth the drive.

Also, for what it's worth, just because someone is in the military doesn't mean he isn't a bum.

We will shop for used appliances where we can when we need one… or pick up used cabinets if we can, or search eBay for something smaller,  but going to the extreme of personally shipping something big in internationally for one-off renovation needs seems like a stretch of reasonable.Just like you mention, the number of unknowns would not seem to be worth it to me.Just my 2 cents.Randy  

Is it worth bringing in my contractor first to see how difficult it would be or should I call the gas and water companies first?

It’s one of the few places where you can realistically achieve solid returns without needing a massive upfront investment.If you’re open to exploring other markets, Detroit might be worth considering.

I think my main pain point is underwriting the property as it is and then seeing what it could be and then making decisions on if it's worth and how those decisions are made.  

For a land cost of $150k, how would you think about how much the completed home would need to sell for to make that land cost worth it?