Basically, I was lied to but of course this all happened over a phone call. 

It should be matched to their application and their credit/criminal background check.Here's a detailed guide on how to screen applicants: Application Screening Guide

Your best bet at this point is to get together with an architect and see what your options are.

Great thanks for the detailed reply.

Since I have done both of these things wrong and right in my past, I can tell you keeping the client happy to a certain extent is a lot more cheaperWe have found that setting the proper expectations right up front of what we will and will not do seems to help solve going down this never ending rabbit trail sometimes.

There are pluses and minuses to this.

@Roger Mace I don't understand what your asking, who's "high" in this scenario??? 

Anyway, I could talk about this for hours but those are just a couple pointers.  

Since I already own the land and would be interested in building on it, what’s the first step to see if this is even possible?  

What do you do for this scenario?