If you already have a pre approval for FHA then starting locally with a house hack is going to be your best bet.

IRA funds do not have "tax basis" since pre-tax dollars were used.

You need to contact the governing body that has jurisdiction over the zoning laws for either the incorporated or unincorporated of the county or city for the plot you are interested in building on.  

I can pre-authorize an amount and if the expense is below that, the vendor can do the repairs without talking to me live4) Urgent maintenance issues - say a pipe breaks, or tenant is locked out.

If you don't do this, do you have a particular reason (such as you'd find out through a different part of your process that someone is scammy) or is it something you just never thought of incorporating into your screening?

He had 20yrs experience in corporations, business management, and now runs a business offering CFO consulting services, accounting, tax advising, and book-keeping. 

How would I go about getting a home under contract without being pre-approved?

Pre payment penalties, yeah happy Monday.

The lot I'm interested is in town, has access water & sewer available, from all perspectives what are things that are different than buying a traditional pre-built home.

I can pre-authorize an amount and if the expense is below that, the vendor can do the repairs without talking to me live4) Urgent maintenance issues - say a pipe breaks, or tenant is locked out.