Employment and housing sectors have improved in the past year as U.S. unemployment dipped below 5% for the first time in many years.

Do your due diligence and find out their bottom line (what they currently owe, how many years have they enjoyed living there, what improvements they have made).

There is a real estate investor buying rehabs in San Antonio TX with private first mortgages, with no due on sale clausesThen selling the homes without improving them on wrap around mortgagesWrap buyers are owner occupants RMLOs are used to underwrite the wrap buyersIf you sell on wraps with RMLOs it is my understanding of Dodd Frank there is no limit on the number of deals you can do.

From what I can tell, the owners will sign the mortgage or deed of trust note and have joint liability for the note with the borrowers.

My first step would be to get on the phone with each of the utilities and see what is even feasible.Quite often you are limited by infrastructure and those limitations will cost you to improve them.

I'm partial to lower CAP rate properties that have room for some improvement (such as this one).  

I'm also interested in finding investors to maybe do joint investments.

I could put 25% down, but would like to try for 20% to ensure i have plenty of money for improvements, reserves, etc. 

Married couple filing jointly has taxable ordinary income of $30,300 and long term capital gains of $100,000.

All improvements are in and plotted ready to build on.