Buildium is sort of following the same model with tons of investment money and overseas development.  

I wouldn't listen to one guy complain about his niche business model becoming extinguished by competition.

anything left over after the home is sold would be considered my development fee i guess.Question #2: What is the best approach to offset or minimize taxes for this type of investment/development model?

I Personally believe to create a business model your going to count on that involves the owner will change their stripes and become a great payor..

I ran your numbers through my model including a higher insurance rate and putting 25% down.

Our business model is to have enough of these to allow the lion's share of the profit to go to the end buyer.Regards and Good Luck.

But my financial models are conservative and account for capital reserves so hopefully I will be close to predicted returns.

@Adam Zachmy My fiance and I relatively new to the game, but there are many different flip models.

I did go with the upgraded model for my home compared to my rentals which is essentially an aesthetic upgrade. 

The more complex you make your payback model, the harder it is for people to understand, the harder it is for them to say yes.