The second lot had the remnants of a tennis court the original owner had built, but was now in disrepair.  

I have a ton of customers in CA that have purchased in all over Middletown, OH.

Sounds like there were some lean years but your persistence has paid off big time in terms of appreciation on both rents and home value.

That's the direction I'm headed in for analysis.

we did the first 3 in a 18 month period we used internal funds so no debt.. these were 350k to 400k all in projects.. so U need cash to be a spec builder or you need investors if you dont have cash..

Pace has built communities that work off one another to achieve success.

I've learned something in every one of them. 

I paid about $1500 in closing costs between title, appraisal, etc, but the original loan was wiped out in favor of a new lower rate. 

Quote from @Matthew Samson: @Corby Goade yep, that sounds like a plan.

Sounds like a good deal, congrats Scott!