I love the amenities and like not having to wash towels.  

@Joel Owens I have lodged a soft protest with the bank about the appraiser' assumptions.

I have a rental house and I go to Wells Fargo and do a cash out refinance on that rental house on a investment loan program parameters, and I check the box on the app that I do not plan to occupy the house.  

It's just about the worst firewood and if somebody wants to mill soft wood then they'll just cut down a pine with a 30ft straight trunk.I don't know much about chinese tallow but some people make bowls out of the wood.... still sounds like it'd be hard to find a buyer.Still... if you've got more time than money you can call around.  

The economy still seems pretty soft in my area so I'm worried about building it and getting stuck with it.How do you estimate construction costs?

So other than the demolition, this is pretty much a spec house new build.Purchase price: $365k, which includes:all building permits and school feesdemolition costfoundation only (raised floor setup), garage concrete floor & driveway are not doneLot size: 7400 sqftNew house size: 2854 sqft + 475 sqft garageBudget in a nutshell: Land & soft cost: $365kRest of the cost (construction, holding costs, commission, etc...): $435k - $535KSale @ $350-$400/sqft ==> $1.15M - $1.15MProfit: $100k - $215k+ Time line Overview:9/13: purchase10/13 - 12/13: finish foundation piers1/14 - 5/14: Underfloor plumbing, subfloor6/14 - current: Framing, Rough of all trades+ Notes:Big gap in times dues to lack of funding, and interferences with clients' projectsAll plans are final, no adjustment/modificationInspections are all done.  

A very inconvenient situation to find yourself in is one where your tenant calls, at 3 AM, as they have an early shift that day, with a towel wrapped around them, complaining that they do not have any water to take a shower.  

I imagine condo prices are soft while these assessments have been pending.  

I still tear my paper towels in Half  :)

A few flips ago I had a 1200 soft condo that had been smoked in 30+ years.