I've been building since 1981, mostly custom houses,
and always on a cash basis. Last spring, work
slowed down for the first time since I've been in
business. No one was knocking on the door, and I
knew that within a few months I would be out of
work.
As it happened, about this time I was looking at
building lots with a potential customer. The real
estate agent we were working with mentioned that
he had recently gotten a loan to build his house. He
put no money down, yet was loaned 75% of the
appraised value of the finished house.
This sounded like a great deal, so I began to
investigate