You set your building schedule around the weather to keep most work happening in the warmer months.In your analysis you factor in your real estate commissions, zoning attorney, architect, site leveling, vertical and horizontal improvements, exterior and interior costs, parking, landscaping etc.

It would be cool if the 1st one w/ the wood that's horizontal would be vertical..

Then you only need to estimate entitlement costs and development costs (horizontal), and developer profit to back into a raw land cost.Trying to figure out a sales price for a finished home on a lot, then backing out builder profit and builder hard costs, then trying to figure development costs and entitlement costs creates to many ifs/buts/maybes to accurately price the land. 

That means if you're buying a house built 2008 or later for sure, the lowest horizontal crossmember is 14 feet above sea level (elevation of land + elevation provided by pilings).

I have seen most vertical cast being much more resilient than horizontal.

Depending on how bad is the foundation state (how many inches you have to correct), is very possible the sewer line will disconnect/break in the horizontal portions.

The front usually requires solid up to 3 feet with a 50/50 solid (lattice or horizontal fence plank) for 3' to 6' by local code.

Smaller = more horizontal leadership.

Learning what LOCAL investors are doing that works around your area and networking with those people is a great horizontal step.At a local REIA/meetups I can almost guarantee you may meet agents and lenders.

I use a posterboard with 23 horizontal lines, and 5 sets of 7 vertical lines.