In your new hole, supplant with a high quality mulch soil mix.

most bankers are standoffish ;-)yes, the HML/PML will be higher cost, but my concern for you is the banker knows he can't do your deal, but will string you along for a while, ask for additional information that takes you time (and maybe cost) to put together and he ends up either ghosting you or taking 6 months to tell you no.I could be wrong and you may be dealing with a "unicorn" banker, but I believe a HML/PML that knows construction in your market will be easier to work with, actually close your deal, and end up "saving" you money in the long-term...just my 3 cents - even inflation has increased this!

In experienced folks talk with about these topics and it gives the wrong impression.

You are speaking to the wrong folks.

Am I wrong about the legitimacy of assigning vs double closing?

My perceived risk at the time whether, right, wrong, or indifferent, the reward for me just wasn’t there.

Now I’m sure the owners of Bigger Pockets are glad that you would say that, but in reality, Bigger Pockets is full up with strangers, and there are very few posters that do not have something to gain by posting.If something goes wrong in your life, don’t expect a lot of help even from a paid mentor.

That aside- let’s think about this logically- let’s say there are no 2-day bootcamps which makes me wrong, and those Covid syndicators paid 40k to your friends’ mentorships because that’s what the “secret sauce” and their time is worth which make you right, and then they’re now the “Covid operators” which is a term people like you use to try to prove whatever it is you’re trying to prove? 

People who did it wrong and weren't able to execute.

But be very careful who you lease it to, the wrong person may run it into the ground within a year.