Beach House financing

[Dean Skandalis]

Hi, everyone.  This is my first time posting here.  After spending a lot of money renting beach houses this summer, I'm now considering building a beach house of my own, which I would use with my family a few weeks a year and then rent out for the remainder of the year.  I'm trying to find the best way to finance the purchase/construction while keeping as much of my hard-earned savings in the bank.  The scenario I'm considering would be to buy a very old beach-front house, tear it down, and build a brand new home.  Here are the rough numbers:

Old house: $1M

New house construction: $1.4M

Cash available: $800K

Home equity: $500K

Because of the location/demand, I need to purchase the old house quickly so that I can make sure I secure the land and am trying to figure out the best way to do so.  Ideally, I'd like to put my home equity to use (at least temporarily) rather than tapping into to my cash.

I would appreciate any input and/or suggestions.  Thanks!