This is tax free. 

OPIf you have a company with a Sales tax license.  

As U.S. citizens residing in Europe, we are required by the local tax code to hold the property in our personal name.

For several reasons (property taxes, politics), I would prefer to begin real estate investing somewhere other than locally. 

Would it be wise to buy the land with cash we have or utilize as down payment to avoid PMI?

This appears to be a 'transfer tax' instead of an income tax. 

Where is the income tax of 49% here?

I have a vision of building and developing mobile home communities in upstate NY that are vertically integrated to allow future members to choose from a catalog of homes, have them installed, provide them with financing options, and make the process of selecting, buying, and living in the community very smooth.Since this is my first time doing this, I would love to chat with an experienced mobile home developer on the following items:Zoning - navigating the zoning process to allow the community to be allowedStart up costs - I am a finance person who would love to better understand start up costs - septic / electrical / water / pads / roads / etcOn Going Maint Costs - in building our business case, I want to build a conservative financial model to capture all re-occurring expenses - utilities, landscaping, capex, septic clean out, etc.I know this is a lot, but would greatly appreciate talking to someone who is an expert in this asset class!

They can identify potential investment opportunities... not to mention all the tenant/landlord laws, eviction process, security deposits, accounting, end of year tax statements etc. lots of pitfalls to be avoided.wish you success in your ventures!

At least, if you don't want issues down the road tax wise and if the government finds out it could cause some serious legal issues.