The local area has similar homes without the land but closer to town with rent over our mortgage so I’m hoping it’s possible.

Since it’s the largest home in the neighborhood, that can be a bit of a challenge, but you can turn that to your advantage with the right strategy.First, consider tweaking the price slightly—either lowering it a bit more to attract attention or pricing it closer to the higher end if you’re targeting buyers who value the upgrades and space.

We walked away from a new build last fall because we could already see issues and the sellers ended up getting us a pre-inspection report that said there were serious issues with drainage and foundation.

You won't get to inspect the property before buying it.

Then the few that are remaining you can look closer at their track record (often after signing an NDA)  to see if it meets your other criteria or not.Good luck.

You need to set a deadline for them to correct the issue, then follow up with an inspection or other method to confirm compliance.

Gas going to be closer to 5/gallon than 4... car insurance probably 150 or so.

Possibly, but that Fannie/Freddie deal might only return 8% C-o-C with a 17% IRR whereas the smaller deals would probably be closer to 15% C-o-C with a 23-25% IRR.

And it's in a super convenient, central location, closer to downtown San Francisco than most of SF neighborhoods, and easy access to the whole East Bay.

There are not a lot that will do it without an appraisal or BPO Kiavi does a virtual inspection.