Homeowner's insurance simply covers the loss of the physical property.The only thing that even remotely comes to mind would be mortgage insurance, but I have never seen mortgage insurance factor into a HELOC?

The cost of other (non-new construction) houses in the neighborhood have no relationship to the cost you'll incur to build a new house.Your costs will be based on a lot of factors:- Location- Level/type of finishes- Style of house- Size of house- Whether you GC it yourself or hire a builder- The types of contractors you use- Your negotiating ability- How strategic you are with your designs to keep costs downI've built houses for $60/sf, and I've built similar houses in other locations with different contractors for $90/sf. 

At first I was all for spending all my earnings on stocks but my focus is on cash flow & passive income and every kind of stock strategy I looked at just didn't seem worth it to me since inflation and other factors just make buying stock less appealing.

Your experience in real estate investing will be another factor as well as the financials of the property you are purchasing.

Have you calculated all factors, such as property management, repairs, renovation and similar things?

(if you dont have heloc yet use tdbank, they are the best)The bigger issue is if you want low rates that you can cash flow with you are talking regualr real estate mortgages in which your DTI will be a factor. 

Since you somewhat have control over the price, mark it up by 2000 and give that as a bonus to the buyer's agent.Also, a key factor in a home selling is the condition.  

Beautiful Brian!

Compare the cost of insurance to the cost to set up an LLC and factor in the annual filing fees and accountant/attorney fees.

Additional, to the extent that your offer has other superior 'non-price' factors such as 'all-cash' (no financing contingency), large earnest money deposit (EMD), waive inspection (if you are comfortable with that) and possibly a quick close, sometimes you can swing the tide in your favor.