Good to know another builder in MD.  

Staten Island seems to be a tough market to get into with all of the usual suspects (Big Builders) snatching a lot off good deals before they hit the market.  

For example you see a house under construction, pull the sales info and see what the builder paid for it.

Price $5MMDown 20% ($1 MM)Interest ~6% (which I inflated)30 yr fixed 8-year property tax exemption (already approved)3,390 sf of retail space150 underground parking spaces Monthly payment ~$24k It will be a brand new 5-story 163-unit apartment complex (the builder is the seller).

You may want to consider a JV with an established Builder/Developer in your city.

One of the hedge fund managers spoke of how tons of money are being thrown at these sights and there will be an explosion of IPOS with incredible valuations .For builders small and big  there is no shortage of funding.

What could be measures of quality of a builder's work?

Will he rent the property until the pool builder goes out of business or the statute of limitations runs out (if it ever does).

A year ago Bryan Hancock introduced me to an Austin builder/rehabber who I JV'ed with on an extreme rehab project.

A good RE agent can manage others to rehab properties and a good flipper can create his own inventory, just as a builder does, and manage sales whether licensed or not.My experience showed me really successful agents are extremely people oriented and have the ability to develop connections and networks.