Make some more calls - call an agent or two on the other side of your state, who may see you as bonus business, not a local customer to try and steer into a full replacement policy, unless, you really want to build a new home right where your rental is on the very outside chance there's a total loss. 

i have been using an excel spreadsheet i custom built for what we need)

If you hire a GC they will most likely want to order materials, just know what you are paying for- also if there are certain things you want to tackle like bathroom vanities, appliances or kitchen cabinets then you can certainly order those yourself if you happen to get a better deal .When I first got started it took a lot of bidding out to find the right people.

(Related: We all know interest rates will rise sooner or later, but exactly when is anyone's guess)So the only thing you can really do is choose based on your customers' preferences today, since "money today is worth more than money tomorrow" anyway.

They wanted it under our names only and they would only do it with existing customers.

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Until I realized I need to utilize my creativity, ingenuity, number crunching forte, ability to sell and impeccable customer service skills.  

It is speculative in that you are not building a custom home for a specific buyer, just speculating (obviously based on market analysis) that there are buyers in the area looking for what you're going to provide.

If not, you can usually get it from your title company's customer service department or your real estate agent usually has access to a tax database that reveals owner's names.If this property is the only property that person has ever owned in that county, and their name isn't John Smith, it should be easy to figure out what documents pertain to that property.

If you use the same closing company you can ask them for an investor or frequent customer discount.