I'm doing the same thing as you are right now. We bought the land and
will own it when the building begins. Some builders have the ground,
and will build your house on their land. One builder had many lots
which we could choose from...but we choose to buy a 4 acre lot in the
country.

For our construction loan, we went with a local bank...will have a 1
year ARM and will only pay interest on the principal, I believe it's
4.5 or 4.6 %. Some banks limit the number of drafts you can have on
the construction loan. Our bank has unlimited drafts, and a
construction manager that will verify the drafts and purchases along
the way. He will also assist with making sure we get lein waivers from
the subs, I'll be my own GC.

We will have one closing cost for the construction loan and mortgage,
something new for this bank...looks like a pretty good deal.

Building cost...with out knowing your location, we can't ballpark your
construction cost..in central Iowa, for a plain house your looking at
110-115, for a custom home 135-140.

Good luck...

Darwin