looking for help planning how to build the development of my dreams (bonus if in CT)

[Jenete Okeke]

I have been interested in househacking for a while but haven't quite gotten myself to a point to buy anything. life keeps lifeing making it very difficult to raise the funds for a down payment to buy anything, But I want to get serious about doing it this year. Recently I came across the idea of pocket neighborhoods or developments with multiple separate units and saw some kit homes that would be cost effective to build for this. The idea would be to buy a piece of land (5+ acres ideally 10+ but I am in CT and finding reasonably priced buildable large plots of land is difficult) build a few of the kit homes, live in one and rent out the rest (probably a combination of mid and long term rentals. I thought about short term as well but I know that can be frowned upon certain areas). Like many people in my generation I would love to have a garden and maybe a few animals (chickens, ducks most likely) on the property but finding the right zoning, acreage, permits, costs, realistic timeline, mortgage etc is where I am lost. I would be a first time home owner so understanding what I can actually get versus what I would love to get is something I am trying to get a better understanding of. I thought of using either the FHA 203K loan or the USDA construction loan if possible to reduce the down payment cost. Seeing as I would be renting the other units out hopefully I can find a market in the areas I would like to build that also has rents that can cover or be cash positive. That way, having a big down payment hopefully should not be as dire. If you have any advice or if you are an agent or lender in the CT area that has any info on this/potential properties feel free to reach out to me as my goal is to accomplish at least getting the land portion by the end of the year even if the construction is not able to be finished before then (not sure if this is realistic). For now, I am looking to understand:

-What zoning I need to be looking for

-Areas in CT that may be good to look for this/would allow this

-What I should be calling something like this (development, Multifamily, Farm with multiple ADUs, Multiuse? I am not sure)  

-Should something like this be subdivided?

-Understand the math needed to calculate how much home I can buy especially since there would be rental units (I am hoping around $400,000 to do the build I want to do but whether I would be approved is still something I have to look into. I am not completely sure how that part works) 

-Costs to keep in mind/budget I need to have prepared to get started

-how much of a down payment I should have: I know at least 3.5% for FHA, USDA offers 0% but I don't know what kind of credit you have to have for this

        -closing costs

        -other costs to keep in mind or other creative funding options/grants/assistance

        -Will I have to fund the money first for the build then mortgage pays out? I feel like someone told me this and I am not sure if that is true or how the construction loans work.

-What is a realistic buy, construct, move in timeline 

Thank you for any advice you can offer.