If you are a serious buyer, and you are thorough in your physical analysis of the property, you can avoid the inspection, saving yourself $$$ and making your offer MUCH stronger in the process.

Copper or PEX water supply.10.

It is a variable part of supply and demand.

Supply/demand doesn't bode well for one-off new construction for folks that don't have existing established relationships with GCs. 

Easy to duplicate a look given Ikea supplies the part list.

In my experience, every town has one or two guys who are know for supplying and installing windows. 

The other issue is that it seems to be a pretty nice house, which leads to the issue of finding good tenants - often tenants who can afford that high of a rent for a year could also just a get a house and just pay the mortgage (not all people do this, but it does limit the demand for the commodity you are supplying.)I've seen people run distance rentals successfully and unsuccessfully.

Maybe if supply and demand ratios changed and they were desperate.

The owner was kind enough to supply me with his nephew's contact information, but I have not had any success in contacting him. 

He will supply the down payment and I will oversee the business end of the deal.