I should also mention that it is generally the specific contractors who will pull the permits applicable to their phase of the construction--e.g., an electrical contractor will pull electric permit, plumbing contractor will pull plumbing permit, etc.

It does not mean that you would not hire somebody to solidify the deal before breaking the ground, but at least you would know where you are standing with this.

You don't have eyes on the ground to do your walk through.

My best friend lives 10 minutes away and could be my "boots on the ground"/Property manager.

Depends on your strategy and what phase you are in.  

It will go directly to the ferry building in SF (I'm currently working on this job in the pre-construction phase).

I think the property prices will increase once the new AZ Coyotes Arena breaks ground in Tempe.  

I really need some "boots on the ground" friends that would be willing to work with a long distance investor.

We are still trying to get our feet back on the ground and are looking forward to focusing on REI. 

For raw land development you just need to budget for a whole lot of soft costs before you get going, I actually help with the biological/environmental phases of raw land development, so I can you that it's tough to develop raw land.