Yes, you probably won't have too much for maintenance expenses for a new home, but you do pay a premium for that benefit.  

This should only yield at least a pretty small premium.

Land is at a premium and every dang builder is doing everything possible to find a plot.  

West U is nice, but why such a premium over memorial?

Negative initial cash flow, but increasing over time.The above are generalizations and do not apply to every single property at every single point in the RE cycle, but it is a mental framework to understand some of the dynamics at play with pricing premiums in different markets.

Homes where mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, kids, etc. can all sleep and split the costs command an almost a disproportionate premium.  

Is there anything that could be offered to justify a rent premium? 

And in other flood zones that are a bit higher risk, policies are often affordable and justifiable by the investment opportunity.At the end of the day, regardless of the premium costs, the number crunching you do in advance of purchase, as long as it is done properly, will dictate if the costs are too high or not.I have good contacts for insurance etc., and I have been doing this in NOLA for 21 years, currently owning 74 units.  

There are many "turn-key" companies out there, but for most of them, you are essentially paying a finder's fee and definitely paying a premium.

Depending on the location, homes that are "Lake Front" (have direct access to the lake and sometimes an actual dock) do very well as being lake front is a premium amenity such as being Ocean front, Ocean View, or Ski-in Ski-out (mtn markets).