Next piece of advice is shop this deal around with someone through the forums or local real estate groups (google for your area). 

I mean it's CA for heaven sake :)   By the way our most recent couch purchase was a lovely piece of furniture built by the Amish. https://ssc.ca.gov/forms_pubs/hog/Are you saying the earthquake stuff is the reasoning for the timber construction vs masonry? 

However, exploring out of state markets could offer stronger cash flow upfront, so it’s worth evaluating both paths.A piece of advice would be to focus on building your core 4  team: agent, lender, contractor, and property manager.

I just finished reading a Bigger Pockets blog post that says Florida will be one of the hottest markets for flippers and landlords in 2025.

Cody,If you want to work with a bank or lender to build on a piece of vacant land you will need to be on title of the land for at least 6 months.

Use Loopnet and look for the oldest nastiest piece of land or lot for sale.  

I suppose it is a good piece of information to be aware of going into the deal.

According to a piece I saw in The Economist, it’s surprising how certain markets keep evolving from year to year.

From all the heirs I have talked to after a death, eighty percent are more annoyed they have to deal with this than excited to be passed a piece of real estate.

Don't worry, it's the last piece I'll put in this thread.