But, there’s a much bigger reason to want REI activity in your potential market.You will leverage that community to find out a ton of information to get started, such as:-finding out the best zip codes/neighborhoods-discovering the top property managers-finding the best contractors-learning which local banks are most investor friendly-finding the local private money lenders-etc.Tapping the local REI community will dramatically shorten your learning curve, which is why you need to make sure it exists in the first place.Now you have the information you need to go out and pick a great cashflow market!

Try not to boost the commission for people like them and we might see less of it.

Like Tim says, there are lots and lots of variables.In addition to the things Tim mentions pertaining to the construction itself, you have all the zoning, utility, and entitlement issues that may dramatically affect the cost.

If you can find something that he likes talking about before you even say that you're at his door to buy his Dad's house...all the better....your sales percentage goes up dramatically.

I know its hard to remember you are draining a swamp when you are wrestling an alligator, but after 10 years your equity position should be dramatically better, you should have cash reserves built in and held for just an emergency as this with no less than 6 months rent.

Once you learn that accessing this pool of funding with special business credit cards is actually a very good thing because banks will increase the amount of credit they provide your business as you prove you are a good client, you will have positioned your new venture in a strategic way to dramatically increase your chances of success.After having people for 37 years ask me to teach them how to get funding and how to invest it, 8 years ago I put a group of very talented committed people together to educate and fund investors and business owners.  

@Blair Murphy that was a workable strategy when property prices where rising dramatically year after year.  

We used a pressure boosting pump because we were far from the road and they kept saying our pressure was fine it was the distance but it wasn't and eventually we found a leak and ran a new line, that could be a reason for a pump but not the tank.The other option and my dad did this but it isn't exactly legal.

The inventory is huge and would make a dramatic impact on the markets Don't forget they are from the most hard hit areas, California, Florida, Nevada etc.

The resulting middle class wealth migration to places like TX is dramatic.