You appear to have the basic steps laid out. I would add something about learning for yourself what the zoning restrictions might be for your potential lots.

Since you are now renting you should assume that the entire process will take longer than expected and don't let yourself get squeezed into a situation where you must vacate the rental and therefore rush the final phases of the build. Plan in plenty of schedule and budget contingencies.

I am curious about one thing. How does not using an agent save you 3%? Are you only looking at FSBOs?

You should meet with the architect first in order to better plan how to take advantage of and avoid the disadvantage of the site features, to better prioritize your program needs and offer suggestions for a house type/style that would be appropriate given all of the above information and the neighborhood. He/she might be able to suggest a good source for house designs if not offer a schematic solution. This kind of advice can't be found elsewhere so you should take advantage of it.

@klabio. I have been told by builders that we save 3 percent on the cost of building if we don't have a realtor. @builder8. Good suggestion thnks

@auggie - The builders are incorrect. The real estate commission is set in the listing contract between the sellers and the broker they list with. That percentage is typically 6% and it gets split four ways in the case of a transaction involving a buyer's agent who would be the person representing you. Not having an agent representing you doesn't save anything. In that case the seller's broker and agent split the commission 50/50.

If you bought a teardown the agents involved would get their commission on the sale of the property prior to demo and not be party to the contract with your builder in any way. Unless I suppose your building is a licensed broker which is not likely.

It sounds like you have a solid plan. You may want to use an agent to help you find the property, as you won't pay the 3%, the seller will. We tried to do the same thing (go without an agent) but found that there were a lot of properties out there that we were missing because they were FSBO and not on the MLS. Once you've found the perfect lot, the rest of your plan is solid. There are a lot of great sites with home plans and even some that will build on your lot. (Our company does that but we are located in Richmond, VA). Once you've got the floor plan, you can either hire an architect to make changes for you or, in some cases, a knowledgeable general contractor can help you with revisions to an existing plan. Good luck!

This may not be a problem for you, depending on the location...but make sure your water, sewer, phone and electrical are all easily accessed. It's something that may not always be considered, when people say it's cheaper to build new, than remodel. There are fees for each hookup and costs to bring them to the lot, if they're not already available.

That being said, best of luck on the building process! There's a lot to be said for getting what you want, with a new house :)

Your plan sounds good and you are getting great advice. The only thing I would add is maybe you would not need the architect which would save you major money! You may be able to hire a GC or talk to some of the builders to see if they have any plans you might like.