Will the house appreciate enough to cover these costs and your time and effort? 

Lots of minor problems that are simple to fix with a little bit of effort.

(This suggestion of a "debt" position or note investment with the SEP IRA to avoid UBIT and UDFI tax is a creative one... but it’s a very low chance of happening because it’s just too complicated and honestly not worth the effort from the syndicators side.

Creative and sky is the limit. from is flat piece of dirt and turn it into nice housing that people will enjoy living there is rewarding and a sense of great accomplishment. 3. skill building, it require many areas of expertise from start to finish. the amount of knowledge and skills one will learn is a lot more than just flips or buy and hold. from the understanding of zoning, city planning, drafting up plan with architect and engineer, approvals, documentations and financing. the list goes on and on. maybe this is as much as a cons than a pros depends on how one sees it. 4. development low income housing, we have a housing crisis, and developer are not focusing on people with low income, they have their eyes on where the money is. dealing with state programs can be lengthy but worth the effort in my opinion if the outcome is to build something that is profitable at the same time giving family a better home/environment so their kids can thrive.

My guess is that they don't think you will have the ability to close so they want to get some $$ for their time/effort spent on you before the deal inevitably collapses. 

I personally have been really happy with airbnb (as I used to be with VRBO) but I am increasing my book direct efforts so that I am not too dependent on any one platform

But, my main concern is determining which properties are worth the time, effort and money.

This isn't much time for construction - especially if you first have to go through a permitting and rezoning effort which are time consuming but add little value (from a dollar perspective)2.

I'm biased toward SFH, and small multifamily 2-20 units...they can be purchased without syndications, and with a good team require little to no effort.

I'm looking to expand my efforts into the Tampa FL market.