We are heavily considering commissioning the construction of a new house at the beginning of a new neighborhood with the idea that as the neighborhood goes on, the builder will raise prices, and thus ours will appreciate.

The easiest free option is Zillow but depending on your location it may or may not be accurate since it is pretty heavily influenced by listings on Zillow.

The seller and my friend are in heavily involved in Chicago real estate and they seem to have my interests in mind.

Our demographic for renters leans heavily towards 1) older couples who are visiting their kids, who are often having kids, and 2) people moving to the area who need time to shop the market (or people who are building and need a place locally where they can stay atop the process).I think that Flagstaff and Fort Collins are similar. 

I must note that the current tenant utilizes the apartment heavily with 4 kids and are on the messier side.

We will be marketing this space heavily throughout the building process to show the public how it comes together and create that excitement.

For commercial properties, they weigh the building's financial situation much more heavily than your personal financial situation. 

TIme is money and with a project where you are investing heavily on the front end you want your vacant units available ASAP.

So keep in mind that doesnt include rehab which most MFHs being sold need heavily.

It's a fine line, but plenty of people do it and I don't know anyone that's been put behind bars or fined heavily yet.