THe $125,000 costs does not include any settlement or carrying costs and expect the borrower to pay around 7% on the exit in form of settlement and brokerage transaction fees.  

I'm happy to put some numbers together with you on your different options to help inform your decision - just let me know.

I’ve been attending the RI Real Estate Investors Group (RIREIG) for over 20 years and have found it very worthwhile for the information in the presentations and even more so for the networking connections and friends you make.They meet twice a month, usually on Thursdays, one is online for anyone and the other is in person for members.I hope to see you at a future meeting!

This is a great question and one that unfortunately most people don't teach/educate on so there's very little information out there on how to become a developer and how to obtain the proper tools, resources, and team to execute your plan. 

Or would it be preferable (and cheaper and faster) to just hire a contractor to renovate the old mobile home to HUD standards?

Being an Owner/Builder and hiring subs yourself is not legal in a lot of states (unless it is on your own primary residence).

Typically you can call utility providers and get that information.

Most of the good stuff trades off MLS so you need a realtor who is tied into the local investorsThank you all for this amazing information.

I'd want to hire a design-build firm at the very least, but beyond that, would it make sense to bring in a developer who's done this before?

. - Closing attorney informs me that water dept has a $ 2400 lien from previous owner on it. - I contact title company, who investigates. - They just turned down the claim, because this lien was only filed in 2014, 5 years after I bought the property. - The lien is in the name of ZJ, who owned it for 1 month in 2000 and it changed hands 10 times between his and my ownership.