There are a lot of good posts on here so I would take some time and read the forum so you can hit the ground running.

We lend up to 85% of the build costs but, generally, require that our borrowers have some experience with ground-up construction. 

These are all upfront soft costs before you break ground. $300sqft to build at least.If you have any sort of mortgage on the property you will need an attorney to handle the mountain of paperwork the bank will give you for a lien release. 10k+, also probably some nightmare terms to have to build and sell immediately and god knows what.At this point a year has passed and you have spent at least $60,000 cash, you're about to break ground on a structure that will cost you at the very least $400,000 to build, you are still 1 year away from cashing out because you have to now build a house.

You need boots on the ground (you?)

Thanks again for the reality check—it’s grounding and motivating at the same time!

If you have a lot of family in OK, that can be a great place to start assessing since you have dedicated boots on the ground, as well as a reason to visit.Don't overthink the analyzing of markets when you are still figuring things out.

There was something in it for both of us.You have to find some sort of common ground or gain a lot of trust to show how serious you are about this.

And what about the grounding issues?

Regardless of your exit strategy better to have  "Boots on Ground" wherever you invest. hope this helps.

As a realtor, you'll be the boots on the ground.