Frank -Reunion Resort is a beautiful community with the variations of the architecture of the homes and the 3 golf courses. 

You can also do architectural work or civil engineering.

I like a lot of those cities, I’m a big believer in the mid-west going forward, Birmingham is interesting I was there a few years ago and I’ve been to probably over 100 U.S. cities at this point & frankly it was one of the worst ( though it did have fantastic architecture) & is one of the last affordable sunbelt cities, really that & Memphis are it, so I’ll be interested to see if it takes off.

I am sitting in a similar position to you, but perhaps 2 years behind, working a great full-time job, working on my MBA and business plan while soaking up everything I can here on BP (my background is in architecture/sustainability).

Cost estimates are offered by General Contractors, home inspectors, architecture firms and construction management firms.

2) For those that have done something similar in the recent past, besides the Land purchase and construction costs, what were the other big ticket line items from the project (Legal, Engineering, Architecture, CPA, etc)? 

It's a very large lot and house and the previous owner already had architectural drawings but didn't pursue anything. 

And I hear you on reading vs. doing-- talking about investing is like dancing about architecture, right ;-)Ronn

My background is in architecture, and having worked on several development projects I want to learn more about the profession from beyond the design side.Thank you, and I look forward hearing from you.

.#3 Contact Local Contractors for PricingCall local Subcontractors and get budget pricing for common repairs on your typical rehab project.For example, call a roofer and ask what their average cost per Square of Architectural Asphalt Shingle Roofing would be on a 1,500 sf house, with a 6/12 pitch.Note: Some contractors will be reluctant to share pricing without seeing the property, but tell them you are just looking for a rough budget number you can use on future projects.#4 Compile Your Prices into a Spreadsheet or Estimating SoftwareOnce you start to get a better understanding of Labor and Material costs you will want to store this data into a spreadsheet or software that you can use to help you streamline the estimating process.The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs comes with a spreadsheet that you can use to help you populate your own database of labor pricing and material pricing.