I am assuming you will need a downpayment and your scope of work is more than 30K so where does the money come from? 

It was $1k which is a lot of money to me.. but it came with a money back guarantee after 10 weeks of courses.  

We may habe high property taxes but our rents are high with increases quite common, and insanely low vacancy rates.

hard money loan How did you add value to the deal?

Had a nice positive cashflow until approximately 1 year ago when I had increase in property tax and HOA, plus had  insurance increase, which decreased my cash flow to nearly $0.

In your opinion, what are the benefits and risks of private money lending compared to traditional financing?

Put reduce current year taxes as an option.Lots of people miss the forest for the trees and do it for that purpose.My answer for top 2is:Store of valuePrice appreciation

In Missouri, they sell tax lien certificates. 

But per lot it will cost roughly the following:$1,500 Electrical poles, meter installation $2,000 water taps and connections$5,000 grading and land prep$8,000 septic installation (assuming a 1:1 ratio of homes to 1000 gallon septics)$5,000 down payment on each home ($700-750 / thereafter per unit)$21,500 total set up x 17 = $365,000Ongoing expenses after development would look something this for POH model: $12,750 a month in mobile home mortgages (17 x 750 for PITI on each unit) $1,900 a month in land mortgage PITI (house) $3,000 a month landscaping$2,000 a month in reserve emergency fund$2,200 management$21,850 a month total expenses $262,200‬/yearOngoing incomes after development would look something this for POH model:$27,000/month ($1500 x 18 {17 mobile homes plus house})$324,000/year324k-262,2k = 61,800 net pre-tax profit or $5,150/month.Opportunities to reduce start up expenses: Bulk deals with the government or contractors for doing all the work at once (electrical, water, land grading, septic) Trade free rent for someone to mow and landscape (turning a $3k event into a $650 event every month).

@John N CookI don't have much experience with ROBS... but the C-Corp requirement will mean that your C Corp has to file and pay its own taxes - unlike a Single Owner LLC, which can file within your personal tax return.