Since soil conditions, grade, rainfall and runoff, etc vary so greally from locale to locale, you need someone from that area to consult. 

Some builders don't include fees for plans, renderings, soil samples, landscaping, etc.

Income averaging as it were.. as I lost roughly 5 million personal in the wipe out...now I am financing the new guys in Jackson ( call me crazy) but their exit is a refi to keep them I would never loan to another out of state investor in ANY MARKET in the US.. just way to risky and having been there done that.. so what did I learn owning 300 plus home sin Jackson .. long story short your correct this investor will have cap ex up the Yazoo but he does not know it.. the tenant class the soil conditions and the fact that these homes were built about as cheap as a home can be built in the day all lead to extensive cap ex. but that is MS... and Jackson in particular.. rent to purchase raitos are stellar but you need to stay on top of these homes.. if you let them slide one inch the next thing you know its a 10 K turn over

There are limits to what can be done with certain soil types or other conditions.

what if you started FortCollins compost where you get paid to pick up all the compost and turn it into soil... then get pigs??

@Karen Alexander  check out in depth property tax's in Texas prior to investing and then also check into expansive soil foundation repairs.. unless I lived there TExas would be the LAST place I would buy non appreciating to low appreciating assets.. you will not like it in the long run.

The costs can vary, greatly, depending on soil conditions. 

Sandy Uhlmann what is a Roth IRA?

Listing disclosed mold and water damage in the basement and soil contamination.

Georgia will have a different construction format than Chicago because of the weather and soil.