However, several factors come into play, such as state laws, regulations, asset protection strategies and costs (widely different, e.g., California vs.

Working a couple of deals there and looking to expand would like build relationships with a few key people there.  

It definitely depends on a lot of factors - where non-QM is generally going to be about 0.5%-1% higher in rate, but can be more than that or even lower than conventional with some more options - one in particular is if you did a longer prepayment penalty period (5 years - at a descending penalty structure or even 5% all five years), then that could drive the rate down even significantly lower than the conventional alternative.

The combination of these factors made it an attractive opportunity for us.

My strategy right now is to sell the land to a real estate developer to develop the home at a steep discount ($150,000) but make a claim on the stake of the overall project to get my remaining money back, plus the profit of the build. 

I'm looking to build a team to possibly start investing there.

PS I love Charleston .. just tied up a lot down town to do a new build on .. very tough to find lots there that work !!

My plan is to work on on-market deals and focus on building long-term relationships with agents to bring me pocket listings. 

Generating scripts and building a database?

(assuming you're looking to build a portfolio)