I am 24, live in Seattle and just closed on my first home.

By the time you add in ice&water shield, vents and supplies, you are close to $250 / square in materials alone.

As long as you can take title to it within 180 days from when you close the sale of your old property.Or you could do a Reverse Construction exchange where the QI takes title to the lot (before you do) and then the builder builds on it. 

I moved from NorCal to live and invest in Reno, NV because I still wanted to be close to the Bay Area but wanted to have much more favorable landlord/tenant laws, low property taxes (that don't reassess on the sale), consistent diversified job growth, and land constraints for higher appreciation. 

Here is my expected cost:Land: $475kAcquisition Costs (Environmental, Survey, Geotech, Traffic Study): $25kSoft Costs (Engineering, architect, impact fees, permit, legal, closing costs, taxes, interim interest): $300kSite Development Costs: (Earthwork, underground utilities, curb cuts, fencing, stormwater, paving, landscaping): $800k ($400k/acre)Subtotal before vertical costs: $1,600,000 ($80/SF). 

Close to Castlewood Canyon and Cherry Creek Trail.

Close to Seattle & Eastside providing good location for those working in those areas How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

I am also open to hearing of any other good areas close to North Texas that I may be overlooking that have a good return.  

I'm open to bringing in approx $50K but think I'll need to bring in more to cover realtor/closing costs esp if I want it to avoid it being cash negative each month.

This essentially gives me an offer price that will allow me to receive at minimum, all of my money back after refinancing, excluding closing and holding costs.