Idk If this discussion leads to the burn all bridges theory.

Pros: more capital to work with, we keep our $ for improvements (cabins) which might be hard to come by if we burn through cash during construction/unexpected costs. 

Honestly, if you do this long enough you'll get burned by a bad contractor or two.

.#4 Not including CapEx reserves will certainly end up burning you if you plan to hold the building for more than a couple of years (and may even burn you in the meantime).And lastly, 7% is a crazy high rate in this environment.

I do not buy liens in war zones or if the house is burned out and I certainly don't want an empty lot.

My quick read on this is that you need to ratchet up your sense of control.Alternatively to eating the cost and moving on, and depending on how much you want to burn the bridge with Contractor A, you could ask them if they can issue a full/partial refund based on the pictures and Ditra install requirements, and if they refuse, ask how much do they think a negative review will cost them in lost business - especially since you'll mention Contractor B fixed A's mistakes.  

Ideally you have the cash to back you up so you aren't a tight situation and you refinance before the promotional periods expire.

The very first paragraph of Article 1 of the National Association of Realtor's 2020 Code of Ethics & Standards of Practice: "When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client.

House burns down, same.

Also the amount of time it takes for all the showings makes it likely that I may burn out another agent.