As the investor, I take what my daily periodic holding costs are (which include interest costs, utilities, property taxes, insurance, any recurring monthly payment to hold the property) and total that.

You could put together a 2-3 rent bumps for a given period of time. 

It CAN also be very lucrative.stick with your w-2 work for a bit longer and save as much as you can seek out and find a producing real estate agent who can be your mentor in this process - join a good team to begin with...starting part-time as a RE agent is not easy or often recommended - but it CAN allow for that training and transition period...find a great lender who can actually tell you what various assistance programs are available to you.

@Jose MaderaThe only way to monetize the difference between your option purchase price of X, and the end buyers option price of X + 1, is to (1) exercise your option to buy by purchasing the property AND the end buyer exercises his option to purchase the property.With an option to purchase you have the right to purchase at a certain price, which you can (theoretically) exercise any time within the option period.

So we are now worried about having other issues with them during the actual construction period.

A Cost Segregation study is an IRS approved federal income tax tool that increases near term cash flow by utilizing shorter recovery periods for depreciation to accelerate return on investment.

We did it legally and sent an itemized invoice with receipts and she is willing to pay us back over a period of years.

I believe you need a BP Pro membership to access it, but you might be able to get a trial period or something like that to check it out. 

Period.

I have not tried this strategy myself, so maybe I'm speaking out of turn, but I feel this strategy should only be used if the property has been on market for a certian period or if it is not getting any action/notice what so ever.