eclipsed:
first and foremost, it depends on how much savings you have. right now, the secondary mortgage market is in the shitter, so it is a tough time for buyers with less money to put down to obtain favorable financing.
so, if by “i don’t have big savings” you mean “i have 10k or less”, it will be difficult for you to get into any home, let alone build your own. if this is your first property purchase, there are many 1st time homebuyer programs that will give you up to 5k in free grant money (doesnt need to be paid back unless you sell the place before a specified timeframe) for closing costs and downpayment. however, many of these programs require you to fall below income ceilings and also get into the program months before purchasing a home (close to a year in some cases).
previously, it was easier to get into a home because you could roll more closing costs and downpayment into the mortgage through sellers concessions. however, with the secondary mortgage market in the shitter, banks are not nearly as liberal as they were.
building a house requires either a special mortgage product, a lot of cash for deposits, or a combination of both. it doesnt sound like you are in a position to do either.
again, it all depends on how much you have saved.
i have ~ 10k saved, and could snag more if i needed to , my dads best firend is the head of some mortgage broker thing out in rochester and he and my gf talked and he said he would help us out etc with all that part of it pro bono, so ill see how much comes to the table when i go at him…
anybody seen any books on the subject?