Sometimes they don't want to talk and perhaps don't want us there, but most of the time it's well received.1.)

I'm sure he's expecting me to come back and negotiate something more but we are both very new at this and I have no idea what would be an appropriate value for the risk and the time my money would be tied up in this. 

Per this NY Times article, the average American knows around 600 people.https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about,do%20you%20know%20named%20Kevin%3FPer the US Census Bureau, the average American moves 11.7 time in their life, which based upon an approximate lifespan of 84 years, works out to be about every 7 years.https://www.census.gov/topics/population/migration/guidance/calculating-migration-expectancy.html#:~:text=Using%202007%20ACS%20data%2C%20it,one%20move%20per%20single%20yearSo, if the average American knows 600 people and they each move about every 7 years, that means that the average American knows around 85 people that move in any given year.How many of those moves do you want to be involved in?

Ensure the developer has a good history of delivering projects on time and as promised.- Location and Market Trends: Choose projects in prime locations or areas with high growth potential.

As for the land, with some looking around and a possible off market deal, with time I’m confident I could find an R2 lot for relatively cheap compared to the build.

Plus every time the house sells you start that amortization schedule over and you're on the "winning" side of the payments from the new owner so to speak.Obviously this only works when you've got low payments yourself or you manage to increase the value of the home significantly, but is there anything else I should be looking out for here? 

@Sean Haran I have used Longhorn many times.  

Has rent control worked anywhere on the planet or fails every time in the short & long-term.Why not have price control on college tuition, food, interest rates, new vehicle prices and energy ?

You can do first-time home buyer programs that will reduce the amount of money down, or you can take some money out of that property your dad left you to make the numbers for an investment work for you.

We do want to get the appropriate permit but I am thinking that will take a lot more time and additional expenses to have it all in order and we need to be able to refinance it since we are purchasing cash (we are having a hard time with a lender which we initially wanted to do a rental 30 year loan, but not sure if there will denied due to this non permitted alterations to the house).