Land & Custom Builders? (HOA, how much, home builder)

[cmist]

Wonder if anyone has any experience there with buying land and contracting a custom home builder and if you have any recommendations for a custom builder? You can PM me if you can't say on the board here...

Wondered if I bought some land about how long do you guys figure the building process is *just an average* (I know it varies)? And what types of pitfalls do I need to watch for? I know the obvious like the flatter the land the less the prep work... but how about...

1) If its heavily wooded, do I get the say in how many trees are cleared or left behind? Some of the lots I saw were in HOA areas and I'm wondering if there is such a rule anywhere that a certain percentage MUST be wooded, or MUST NOT be wooded?

2) About how much extra would you figure on average for well/septic or is that usually figured into the cost quoted by a custom builder?

3) Are there any huge variables you need to watch for that can drive the cost of the building process way up if you discover it too late? Such as certain types of soils requiring different foundations, or maybe if you are too close to a stream or lake something else can be a problem??

Just racking my brains for unforeseen pitfalls, but out here I know we have expansive soil, flood zones, hard digs, and even occassionally a huge discrepancy on how far you may have to dig to get to the water table for a well... (phoenix)

So I'm just wondering if anyone here knows what hot ticket things to be on close guard for that can be major setbacks with land & custom building.

Thanks in advance!!!