Your friends are filling the position of "boots on the ground" or local presence in the market. 

Lots splits that are basically administrative you can take on debt. my current 90 home project  600k to 800k finished product we bought from when it was 2 years through the process but still took 2 more years before we could break ground..

What kind of boots on the ground do you have in KC now to do this flip?

Builder are selling homes before ground is even broken.

I don’t want to be paranoid and over-insure, but I have heard stories recently of guests at STR cabins in the smokies literally burning the cabins to the ground so I want to make sure I’m covered.

I looked into their financials and didn't understand a lot of the depreciation aspects of things until I did a little bit of digging into real estate, and then that launched me down the rabbit hole that I am so grateful that I found and has brought the most profound change in my life that I could really ask for. 

Just use defects as grounds for negotiation 

We have so much new construction and many builder are doing spec homes, so they want the upgrades builders don't offer, semi custom home buyers want high quality upgrades, most flippers can't keep crews busy enough (right now) due to low inventory, but margins are slimmer, builders need construction managers who typically handle 10-12 homes in a community at a time, small investors need site built homes and on and on.We have been very underserved for many years, so get licensed and hit the ground running!

I feel so grateful for this forum of super smart people. 

You’ll need to network with boots on the ground nearby, a good cleaner, maintenance person and light manager incase of urgent guest issues, this will still be cheaper than a management company. otherwise I would say look on airbnb to other listings nearby and contact one of those hosts and offer your listing for them to manage, this is still much cheaper than a a management  company and will be honestly more effective.hope this helps feel free to reach out anytime with questionsbest of luck, Mike