You can put as little as 3-5% down and still legitimately claim the property as a primary residence which gets you better terms. 

They will provide you with an overview of what needs to be done and what they will charge.

Wonder what they charge developers to access their capital resources.   

Whats making you think rates wont go down after a couple years given the new administration in charge?

I suggest you enter private money goldmine in search botton at top right of the screen and read the previous posts....here is one that gives good perspective as well as a link to legitimate private lenders.http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1488...

In my experience, the good ones are expensive, typically require a subscription, and sometimes they even do a physical inspection of your premises to verify it is a legitimate person / business in US.

Not everyone is very expensive, but some companies/people do charge a bit for this.

They charge ~$120 a stay usually a 2-3 night minimum. 

The builder had a given us the paved yard, Granite kitchen top, washer and dryer at added value with no charge.

They should have also gotten approval from you before charging and doing repairs.