I assume a higher upfront cost as far as land purchase and the actual build but you would have a brand new house, instant equity and hopefully maintenance free for quite a while.

To be brutally honest i don't care if it's at cost, below or above, I only care what it is exactly and how much. 

it ignores (1) all the costs that have to be expended simply to process a transaction, and (2) the higher maintenance costs you will be incurring in that type of neighborhood. 

You’re on the right track—build awareness of costs where it directly impacts their role, but don’t overcomplicate the program with factors they can’t control.

I'd recommend looking at costs. your build cost is going to be well over other homes because of the fixed costs like slab, Hvac, roof, etc. check the market drivers and weight the benefits of short term versus long term. long term is no furniture and help pays mortgage but at this size it doesn't really cover everything. we didn't find a lot of economies of scale in single family detached. can you build more than one unit?

For other clients, it's considering cost segregations. 

It sat for a bit and the price was lowered to 46k so I toured the house and made an offer of 36k after adding up renovation cost in my head.

if there is appreciation, but you wouldn’t sell your current home tax free and buy a neighboring home to rent out, (There by raising your cost basis for additional depreciation and lower capital gains tax.) then it probably doesn’t make a good rental property. . 

As a rookie the fear is that I make a horrible purchase which ends up costing me my primary home.About me, I have been fixing aircraft for over 20 years and this is primary income.

We have converted oil boilers  to gas boilers to reduce costs.