Help me! Wanting to develope an area in a hot market

[Jonathan Johnson]

Hello!

First time posting in this section. I'm usually into buy/hold or wholesaling but this opportunity came up.

I just moved in with my father-in-law for childcare purposes in a new city. This city is small with only one real good real estate area. Trulia gives it a 9/10 area. We looked at a foreclosure and next door they were building a duplex ranch for older people as the area is thick with older adults wanting to downsize or get out of houses with stairs. The duplex wasn't even half-way built and the contractors there said it's already rented out and gets offers all the time. This area, out of maybe 7 counties, is the only one with a grade 10 school from zillow, it's hot. 

My father-in-law made a suggestion that we partner together to buy land, develope it into a mature neighborhood (50 year olds and older) and set up an HOA, and sell off a dozen or two houses. He would like to partner with me and that we both put in $300k to buyland and build these houses. I know near nothing about development except there are zoning things, contractors, builders, financing, and a time table. My FIL has built his own house before, and is about to get his General Contractor license. The market here will easily gobble up any of these houses, but I just don't know how to price things.

Questions:

1) What categories of things should I figure out pricing for?
2) The city I'm in doesn't have real good builders so we will be looking out of state actually. How does that work?
3) I have a near great credit score, what rates and loans should I seek?
4) What zoning stuff do I need to figure out?
5) How does setting up an HOA work? I've never been in one.
6) Is there a development calculator somewhere? Similar to the BP calculators?
7) What other questions should I be asking? Or other BP members, if you were me, what would you ask?