I don't think you're going to get a loan unless you have a builder and a blue book- unless your loan works very differently than ours. The bank(s) we went to looked at the whole contract and builder's specs and also checked out the builder as well. Maybe it is different in other areas though...

I agree, very odd. How did you get a construction loan w/o a builder or a cost to build? If you are this early without much knowledge about the process, you should check out the construction-to-perm threads. The appraisal issue is a big item not to overlook.

k thx - i will check out some of those threads (if I can find them)--- since the restrictions have tighten up so much on the banks-- most of the banks i have talked to said they couldnt do BOTH the construction and perm loan --- most said they would have to "season" the loan in house for a year or and then go to the secondary market with it-- and most have said that the restrictions on the construction loan would be so tight that I could only make checks out to one person-- -the GC. i have a local bank lined out that will do the constr loan, and then will turn it over to the perm lender (which will be at a completely different bank). with this setup i can write checks to whomever i want... which is good and bad i guess. they only need the pre approval letter from the perm lender to let me start blowing money.