The tax deal baffles me because the prices are all over the place for basically the same type of home on the same size lot and the same age.For our own home we are looking for 5-15 acres with a nice sized ranch home on it, not in a flood plane with the ability to build another home on the property and it needs tax exemptions close to The Woodlands. ( within 15 miles as this is the area we want to call home )I noticed that many rural properties have ponds on them, I am assuming this is done to use the dirt for raising the grade of the home to avoid having flood insurance.

You need to consider this option over self-directed IRA for several various reason (you can review my past posts to learn all the details), but most importantly in your case since you are considering using leverage it would be exempt from UDFI tax.

As a foreigner you have to pay this tax on the sale of your property, although you can apply for exemptions in some cases.

I successfully applied for an exemption from FIRPTA and did not need to pay it - one of the reasons for getting exemption is that the condo was my primary residence.

I was able to get an exemption because the condo I sold was my personal residence but not sure how this would work for a buy and flip strategy.

@Tyler Galloway - If you lived in the condo for two consecutive years in the last five, you should be able to sell it outright with a $250k capital gains exemption for a single person or $500k for a married couple. 

The example the IRS uses is a tax exempt university with a book store.

If the house is rented, it will not qualify for any exemption and will need to be sold with proceeds going to her care.If she remains in the property then exemptions would apply.

You may also ask the IRS/DOL for a Prohibited Transaction Exemption(PTE) and buy it from your IRA.

Since the developer is still in the HOA 1) the other owners will shoulder more of the HOA fees, since they are exempt of the capital renewal portion of the Fee calculations  2) usually they have the HOA structured that they have all the votes, so you will not have a say in how it runs.As for the higher rate... talk to your lender to see if that makes a difference.