Most bankers are clueless in establishing or rebuilding credit.  

All those things you can do yourself and they aren't that hard to do.A really great resource for rebuilding credit is myfico.

Any suggestions on helping me or us get a loan for my dream home and helping my cousin rebuild his credit?  

Hey Guys, I have a single family house in a good neighborhood in Los Angeles and I'm planning to rebuild it and do a major addition.

As was mentioned ahead of me, you're going to need determination and patience as this process usually requires a lot of letters and phone calls.http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Rebuilding-Your-Cr...http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO...

Cost of rebuilding? 

However, if the building is destroyed due to a fire or storm your insurance will only pay the cost to rebuild as is and not any extra expense that results from meeting the new codes.

The downtown area seems to rebuilding.  

You have no idea if they are an "opportunity" unless you know what the implications of being condemned are,mass far as what's required to rebuild.  

I am confident in estimating roofs, kitchen, existing bath but not sure what it costs to literally take a house back to the studs if I have to go that far.Given the location the lot is probaly worth more than the purchase price but there are strict laws that prohibit demolishing and rebuilding from the ground up.