That is just not realistic in this current market.So in my opinion it's important to expose yourself to a large number of deals, so you can develop an intuitive sense of what's reasonable and what's not (and quickly discard the ones that aren't).And it's true that there is no way to 100% protect from fraud (and not just in passive real estate investments but even in public stocks etc.).

The end goal is to have a piece of land with multiple houses: one for my growing family but also a home for my mother in law.My mother in law has agreed to foot the money on a new property/land up front and when ready we can buy land from her to build/develop etc. 

Plan is to develop and sell the homes.

However, you will find it difficult being that both of you are W-2 with your main activity to produce income being outside the real estate profession.

Purchase price: $2,900,000 Country Glamping and Development LLC acquired 776 acres for a project called Country Glamping on the River, LLC.This is Rawland/Off-Grid/Glamping/STR and Owner Financing for Lot Owners that want an Oasis Get-A-Way and Glamping ROI development on the TN River.you can see the Project: www.CountryGlampingontheRiver.com What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

This is a long term development opportunity.

Existing deals will instead be saved by NOI growth driven by rent growth--if you have the staying power to hold on long enough.Supply:  High deliveries remain today mostly because of "hang over" from projects that are taking longer to complete than developers (and industry analysts) expected. 

I am working over these next few months to learn as much as I can to develop systems in order to analyze the next market we will move to.

This reduces exit options and affects the value. 10) Small number of small units is the most expensive residential development there is.

However, you have to invest in specific communities where they are encouraging development.