There are plenty of lenders out there that know how to write up a loan, but you may get lucky and find some favorable terms from a cash buyer that may or may not know what they are doing.  

Turnaround is slower for you,  GC may not be available in quick fashion,  you may need to compromise and get less experienced /sloppy GC,  you don't have them to evaluate true rehab estimates before deal closes,  etc..

Does it come down to simply a question of long-term investing versus steady income, or is there something I'm missing strongly in favor of one direction versus the other?

Nothing is for sure, but I like to stack the odds in my favor as much as I can.

I've always found this sense of entitlement (that you should be the one who governs how my money is spent) entertaining... especially since I grew up poor in a gang-infested neighborhood.Seriously - How can I take you seriously, if you can't conduct yourself in an adult fashion and (on top of that) lack any type of business sense?  

And then if they respond, then I go over and talk about how much they are willing to sell for and how much they owe, and all the details, and see if I can somehow get a good deal, maybe give them some cash, take over the payments, have them sign the deed over to me, then rent it or flip it or wholesale it or whatever I could do to make something work in my favor? 

If ever sued it would not be on your favor to be doing business on the property in your own name.

s comments, the primary reason that investors favor townhouses is that they are completely turnkey with low maintenance costs provided a good association.  

Kristine Marie PoeI am only looking at P for personal reasons, but as stated before, the deal has to work in my bank accounts favor or I will not do it.

I don't believe this makes any sense for me.At $250 sf  for 2 2000 sqft townhomes  ( 4000 sqft )  = $1 Million dollar building costplus a min 1 year building time and carrying loan costs etc.The possible market value for each might be $1 Million each which only grosses $2Mwhich might net  800K ( 2M - 1M - 200K misc ) .At $200 sqft it might net 1M ( 2M - 800K - 200K misc ).But this does not favorably compare  to outright sale  which should net $1M after some renovation work.Building profit would be better if each townhome sold for 1.25M.Your comments are welcome.Thanks !