I haven’t been to the site and is not to be taken as a detailed engineering assessment.

Then I had a structural engineer come in to address what the inspector called "improperly anchored support posts" under the house.

I was surprised my number was off by 50% (hahahaha)- I know there has to be some pre construction cost, architect, engineering etc...These are my major questions right now.  

I'm a network engineer in my day job, but my real work is at home.

My father was a huge help as he is a mechanical engineer and has access to drafting software, as well as having a great mind for electrical and general house repair.Numbers: Purchase Price: $85,000Construction cost: $160,000ARV: $315,000It was a fantastic learning experience for me. 

If you want to go into a specialized field like engineering, law, medicine, then clearly you need a "useful degree".  

I am currently work as a Software Engineer in Long Beach but am looking to expand my knowledge of real estate investing.

one reason is the market has been robust enough that no one really needs to do seller contracts.to me seller carry back contracts are done in low value as @Wayne Snell mentioned markets to marginal at best borrowers,, I know the boys in Detroit used these alot .. default rate close to a 100% within 5 years.

I am an engineer and web designer.

I have my own personal website which uses the internet access protocol from my local MLS (it's called IDX, and that is how the aggregators pull their data also) but is hosted by a third party, so the features are not anywhere near as robust as the large aggregators offerings.I believe Zillow is involved in some litigation with the State of Texas currently regarding their "Zestimate."