New Construction Owner Builder - Construction Loan

[Andrew W.]

I recently purchased a property that I am planning to build a new home on. I paid cash for the lot and am looking to finance the build through a construction loan. I would like to be the GC. I have extensive experience in finance, but not as a builder. My father in-law who is a builder (licensed GC) has agreed to be the project manager and teach me the ropes. I am trying to do this without using him as the GC. My concern is obtaining a construction loan without a contractor's license. The value of the land is estimated to be about 35% of the total cost of the project, I have an excellent credit score, high income and very low DTI so qualifying for a loan would not be an issue, other than the fact that I am not a GC.

Is there anyone out there who has done this, and who could give me any tips?  

[Mike Smith]

It's very difficult to obtain a construction loan without being a licensed builder.  Construction loans are very risky for banks even when loaning to an experianced builder.  

Your best option to is use your father-in-law as the builder in a very limited scope.  For example, you pay him $5,000 to be the "builder", but that only includes using his license and him giving you his list of recommended subcontractors.  

That being said, if I was your father in law, I wouldn't do that.  There is simply way to many things that can go wrong building a new home with zero experience.