They city required that I replace the best sidewalks in the neighborhood under the program and the cost was substantially higher than estimates I obtained on my own. 

The best will often ask for nothing until they set foot on the jobsite and really start with site set-up and demo. 

Here are a few suggestions on how you can maximize the wealth of information available: Check out the blogs and podcasts, or take advantage of the search feature (magnifying glass).

Do not rely on it as legal advice.

About 80% of the ones I've seen have fallen through, and many of those were losing deals for the seller.

It's great that you give some info on your project.  

Congrats on the purchase.

Looking for guidance on options. new builds aren't hard to finance and I would argue they are preferred to existing fix and flip loans, especially if you have experience. banks look at your experience, your builder's experience, loan structure, permits, etc you need to get an experienced builder familiar with advanced underwriting and negotiations with local, regional, and national lenders. in columbus we do ground up construction for clients at a 20% discount so they can BRRRR out of the new build with equity and we have pages and pages of data on what we build and why and it's all supported by market statistics. 

It's referred to as VTB (Vendor Take Back) or Seller Financing.

Hiren, I've personally been focused on the northern MSA markets of Round Rock, Georgetown, Cedar Park, Leander.