I have never used 1800Accountant, but I have successfully converted their former customers to my practice.They are incredibly expensive, my clients were never sure about what was going on, and they unnecessarily complicated reporting and transaction in order to (in my opinion) make it seem like the clients were getting value for their money.  

If you hire a big name brand builder you main have to pay more on overhead (project manager, superintendent, heavy equipment and machines) and their profit versus if you hire a small builder, the overhead could be almost nothing, and lastly, if you are a good investor/customer, you maybe able to get a better deal (a builder is willing to build the house for less profit).

Personally we can start before the 6 month date but I have heard multiple customers tell me other lenders have said they cannot start the application until the 6 month date. 

It's far easier to get repeat business from a prior customer than new business from a stranger.

My recommendation is to figure out what's most important to you as a customer.

This is going to sound sacrilege but I think you should get a W-2 job in real estate based on your end game of wanting to be a developer I would look to work for developers, custom builders, surveyors etc.

I built high-end custom modular (e.g. stick built in a factory and shipped) for a significantly cheaper cost per sq foot than it would have cost to build with a local builder.

I have built around  20 homes in the past 2 years all with the exact home plan and  I been doing spec and custom homes my entire life.

What region of NY state are you in and who are your usual customers? 

These markets have been great for our customers.