If any or all of that stuff is new to you, I would highly recommend finding someone experienced and skilled in new construction and subdivision, and enlist their help.

I've utilized his skills several times.

I have some craftsmen skills and my wife has great design ideas.

It's organized through the county and has an online auction which is only open a couple of times a year for purchasers.

Probably not within your skill set.

They are too big of an organization and they don't specialize in home loans.

Bravo - - tracking like this is how you greatly improve your skills in estimating AND managing the project. 

The more organized your campaign is, the easier it is for you to automate processes when you get busy and need to focus more on big picture stuff.If you haven't already done so, set up keyword alerts for your area to be informed when your area(s) of interest are mentioned on the forums.Best of luck to you!

I was also focussed on personal investment at the time (learning and ramping up skills for the job).

If you want to blog to increase organic traffic, you need to start with keyword research to determine which keywords you want to rank for and that will determine the topic and content.