What other protections can I put in my initial offer to protect my ability to back out?

@Brian Garrett it does sound like a good alternative to an HML the only thing I would be curious about is if you have $100k cash  I would assume the project would need to be 100% financed because if you spent any of your own money your limit would go down $5 for every $1 you spend. 

I will spend the rest of this week finding a way to better estimate those.Also, thank you for pointing out the 3% appreciation.  

This is to protect you in case the seller becomes unwilling or unable to execute the deed after the fact.Usually insurance is the responsibility of the seller in a land contract.

It depends on what needs to be done and how much time you're spending doing it.

I think that's what initially attracted me to real estate, but now I'm realizing that having freedom of my time and the ability to spend that with my family is waaaay more important than fast cars and big houses.

Maybe someone has a mature, responsible son sitting around the house that needs to make some spending money and learn something. 

Includes areas protected from floodby certified 100-year levees.

Listen to the last 50 or so bigger pockets podcasts and spend at least a month reading this forum and you will learn a lot and be much closer to buying something safely that will be worth it

Spend a little time over there and you'll get a better feel for the nuances.