Educate yourself and then take immediate and consistent action on all you learn.

but yes subcontractor price creep is real.. and like you said some are going to price themselves out and the GC wont forget.But for now in my markets sales are still consistent but still I wont do more than 10 to 12 specs at anyone time.. if I get a pre sale I start another. 

I've heard that doing this could cause problems with your mortgage and insurance provider.Any feed back is well appreciated!

My current situation is consistent with your recommendations.

Best of all worlds for me - I know it's being paid, I've got a consistent charge to budget for, and the tenants still have motivation to let me know that the toilet's running.

Consistency will get you where you want to go.

So if its 3/4 now feeding more than 2 or 3 fixtures you cant drop it to 1/2 for them. 

You would really have to believe in substantial amount of consistent appreciation to make it worthwhile.

If you are someone who invests in stocks or bonds or other securities and have somewhat consistently generated returns, keep the cash today and go that route not only because of the higher return but also the added liquidity.Best of luck :) 

I can speak for the Mississippi Gulf Coast area consisting of three counties.