Also dealing with land because here in the Baton Rouge market, custom builds are the trends.

You could do either frankly it would depend on trends in the local market.

I am a big believer in that there is a decade long trend of people moving to more urban living in Minneapolis which bodes well for urban condos.  

Hello everyone.Can you please share the sources where you get your market trends from.

It seems like the HOA fee in these cases is essentially just a reduced rent and that the condo owners are captive residents who will be stuck paying whatever the complex charges and, if the HOA fee gets raised too high, won't even be able to sell the condos since people would pay peanuts for them with a high HOA.

However, because there is a nationwide trend to legalization, even if it is illegal in your state there may be policies in place against aggressive enforcement.

Is there a good data source for looking at trends in vacancy rates / rents in specific markets? 

There are numerous companies you could look through, but I always suggest going through a broker.If you go through a direct/captive insurance writer (State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, or most of the big name brand names) they only have access to their lines of products, so you dont really know if you are getting a great deal. 

Account Closed I think this area has been appreciating the last couple of years, but I haven't yet done enough research to be confident in the trend.

Your lenders will want to see your plan, backed up by current market rents and trends.