Interested in where this would be a financially viable business model to pursue if not here and what the margins would look like

Over time, as rents rise and your margins improve, a good PM is worth their weight in gold. 

New construction is very low margin game...

Good profit margins How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Typically a GC tries to get 15 to 20 percent margin on the build.

On the flip side, if you don’t think you can match what the average market rental is doing, and the returns for nice  properties are marginal, then I would avoid that market.

. ;-) It's a field I have marginal interest in as a means of tracking how the market is doing.

I'm leveraged to the hilt, have low margins, and only one exit, but that doesn't matter because all I've ever seen are green pastures.

South Bend and Elkhart may have different buyer demographics, price points, and demand drivers.The median list prices are under $160,000 in South Bend, targeting lower-priced properties allows for better profit margins.

A marginal producer isn't likely to improve if you increase it's cost of finance.This is where you would sell and 1031.