Recently the EMD has been a topic as the seller was requesting that it be placed before myself and the property manager walked through an additional time (to be the eyes and ears for the seller as there was an eviction post my initial walkthrough).The EMD establishes the firm date which is contingent upon the receipt of all documents including the title policy and survey (both of which are outstanding at the moment).

Plus you need survey, geo tech, architect, engineering, and permits.

If my estimated numbers are accurate, I could pay above market value in order to motivate them to sell to me and still turn a profit when assigning to a builder.I was also thinking that maybe asking a simple few questions, like a survey would be a good approach. 

The american community survey (annual census) is a great resources to start with.The data can be viewed at a rather granular level, so studying individual neighborhoods is possible. 

is a DSCR bank loan 'other' in the survey or 'conventional'?

The attorneys, phase one inspection, surveys, closing costs, appraisal, etc. costs a bunch of money in commercial so the goal is to drill down as much as possible and verify numbers and condition of the property and loan chance approval before spending any money.

The basic list you need to be concerned with is as follows:1) Full survey (tree, topo, title)2) Soil test3) Tree removal if necessary4) Utility hook ups - varies greatly by municipality, you will need water, waste water, telco and electric.5) Check for utility easements.  

Namely, we've included environmental surveys, build and design permits and CEQA.

I had a magnetometry survey (fancy name for an oil tank sweep) conducted at a property I am looking to purchase in Northern New Jersey.

Subdivision (segregation) of the lot into two, if not done, also incur in surveying fees, deeds, paperwork, etc.