If you want to try an advanced statistical technique to improve your chances of increasing your response rate, research Design of Experiments (DOE), which is a multivariate method of testing many factors simultaneously.

Or are there rules and policies against renting new construction?

You can sell your tax deed for significantly less than full retail price to other investors, who are willing to wait out the possession holding periods, engage in preservation improvements that make redemption very difficult, and pay for the quiet title suit. 

If you do want to get involved in some calculations you could try to figure out the time value of money against its current net worth with the income the home is generating.Or ignoring the complex math problems, a good rule of thumb is if you can make 10X the yearly cash flow when selling, consider offloading the property and investing in another.Cheers! 

Is there a general rule of thumb of what a lot should sell for in comparison to the home values of what it's surrounded by? 

For me, I prefer the B to C class neighborhoods up North (Vahalla, Hampton Heights, Capital Heights...etc) where I can still get the 1.5% rule in today's market, and have far less headaches.  

Hi, each time I resell something I have a lot of questions on what have been improved in the property.

Plus, if you have your license, you will need to work under a real estate broker for the first four years as a minimum, and different brokers have different rules about what they are comfortable allowing you to do.

So I've heard about the 1% rule & 2% rule (or guidelines) when purchasing a rental property: the monthly rental rate should be 1%-2% of the total amount you have in the property to make it a good investment. 

We created a set of parameters or rules that made this strategy lucrative.