For a 1500sf house with crawl space to enforce the foundation with Simpson Strong-tie Retrofit, a contractor quote me $10k while HomeAdvisor.com quote average in my area (zip code) is around $4.5k.  

You could always enlist in the Navy and then get your college degree, which the Navy will pay for, then apply for an Officer program / flight school spot.

Account Closed  If it's me and I'm starting over, having the working knowledge and BP info, I'd be sure to choose a spot that's growing, reasonable in terms of cost, and has favors landlords (assuming you want to have long-term rentals). 

How do you spot a good deal and what are your next steps?

You hit it just on the spot.

Figured I'd give a try here as it is mentioned as thee place for rei in plenty if spots. 

Lucie is also a decent spot were numbers still work and is continuing to grow.Either way, be sure you are running the numbers through a property calculator. 

Spot on @Mindy Jensen, Tax free from the sale of a primary residence is always better than tax deferred from the sale of an investment property. 

The project I'm referencing got the re-zoning, but then permitting was stalled when the City "quasi" changed their mind about density and wanted to pull back a little.One of my parks I sold a year or so ago.. had a combination of RV spots and MH pads..

It's fine to buy a vacation home/future retirement spot and put it to work in the meantime, but be clear-eyed about what you're doing.