This might help narrow down the best fit in terms of lender type.Do you have any prior construction experience or a builder on board?

I'd recommend house hacking in or near your area to start to narrow your focus. 

Most often it was out of need for a specific location and space, so I first concentrate on the location, then #beds (typically), once I've narrowed it down, then I go to budget.

I would narrow your search to who is the most reputable, hungriest, and priced well for the work performed (not the cheapest). 

This is all info they can use to help narrow out the homes they know you wouldn’t want.If you have 4 kids you aren’t interested in a 1BR.just send them the pre-qualification letter and ask specifically what other info they want. 

Most of the time you can look on FF and see what is available and also what isn't available until X date and that helps narrow it down.

Devin my lending business has a very Narrow niche our specialty is the 200k under BRRR that all these BP members want for rentals in the mid west.. we put them into title and let them refi or flip..

Checkout the ZipFinder feature in vestmap where you can choose your criteria - growth, income, median home price and use it to narrow down potential areas.

You want to narrow down your discussions.     4.  

And if you are really lucky, you may get a whistle or hiss that is audible through the drywall to start narrowing down the location.