Due to increased rates i did not refi so i did not get opportunity to see how an appraiser valued the half bathroom but the comps with same bathroom count had crazy valuation for the additional half bathroom.Taking under utilized space like a work area to add a br where the added br does not put you above the normal for the area can add value.Similar if a neighborhood is virtually all 3 br and 4 br properties and you find a 2 BR, it could be a value add to add the bedroom via new construction.  

I have an extensive background in residential construction, having built several properties from the ground up, and I’m looking to focus on either fix-and-flip projects or a niche market for small residential homes in my area.

Is this home in the beach a new construction or an existing home?  

You have to adjust your expectations to match current reality, which includes higher mortgage rates, higher prices, more expensive taxes and insurance, more competition, etc.

there was a follow up post where someone got a loan from them but for realistic rates  8% or so and few points.. under 6% private / hard money simply does not exist unless its a family friends type situation. that bank rates or lower right now for new construction or fix flip  

@Kyle Atans  or PHX when building stopped dead cold and they deported half the construction workers who happened to be 80% of the tenant base.. same with central CA building stopped  no deportation though :)I just bought in Vegas for semi retirement and tax purposes I kind of like were it sits now.. but no question your timing of that market was impeccable.. !!! 

Most new construction deals require you to give up to a 10-year warranty on some items while most fix and flips come with very little extended liability after the sale excluding gross negligence which is not stopped by an LLC in any case.

To be honest, I´m in the Maintenance & Construction for corporate businesses for some US companies in Mexico and we do some Real Estate down here also, but it´s way much different than the US, so I have much to learn from a lot of people around here and as @Julio Gonzalez, I think this is pretty much the right pad and place to start and to break my fears to start all over again from scratchAlso, I´ld like to hear more from @Justin Brickman why he voted for his city, pros and cons, it will help to read from a local...As I said before, thank you all guys for taking the time to write in this post and share some experienceDo you plan to owner occupy. $40k will not get you a non owner occupied San Diego property unless you find some unlikely alternate financing.

This is still under construction and the pictures are obviously rough edits but you can see why this template is so effective.

Especially now, I am seeing a lot of people who bought during or right after the COVID pandemic and are in situations where they simply cannot sell their homes for any profit (many of them bought as new construction).