Defining your target audience and then determining where they spent the most time, will help you find them faster.

All I'm interested in doing is locking in a steady profit for 30 years, instead of owning an older rental house in a crappy neighborhood that most likely won't appreciate faster than inflation, and maintaining it for 30 years through various tenants, etc.

Let me illustrate - you can borrow 30 year money for under 3.5% right now or you can invest that equity and earn a multiple of that.Debt is a tool like a chain saw - yes, it can be dangerous, but if you know what you are doing and don't become careless it is much faster getting the job done.

i don't think i necessarily need the sq footage but i thought it would be that something "extra" above the next house to get this one sold faster.  

The same factors that have fueled growth in those cities also exist along this corridor, and cities like Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson are growing fast and are projected to continue to grow rapidly...  

banking rules changing faster than the weather these days! 

Use that 'I want to do it now' energy to find ways to pay down your debt faster. 

However real estate is illiquid and takes a bit of skill to do.REITs: far more liquid, meaning you can get in and out faster.

Around here most roofers basket weave because it's faster (and a little cheaper) and it works fine if they've done it right.

Modular" homes do have many of the value points that you state in you post in that you can generally have you modular built faster and cheaper than stick built.I am in the middle stages of vetting modular companies here in Texas and will be working to build out several modular duplexes on a piece of land I have identified, jut working with the county engineering team to verify infrastructure.