As a note investor, we rarely if ever originate loans for owner occupied, we would rather buy on secondary market at a discount. 

Those brands are just great marketing companies, not necessary good windows.

He has acquired the land, gotten the permitting, has construction financing lined up but needs ~20% cash equity / home.I know very little about his particular real estate market, and I've never built anything myself. 

For a comprehensive view of the Las Vegas investment market, message me for my blog link.

In my market (lehigh valley PA) I can get this done for around 5k or less including the units, materials and labor.

Multifamily properties, like duplexes, can be particularly appealing because they allow you to live in one unit and rent out the other, which helps with covering the mortgage while also generating income.Another option is to invest out-of-state in markets where property prices are more reasonable but still offer great cash flow.

Marketing?

Looking for ideas on how I should think about structuring such an arrangement.Reventure has suggested that Connecticut is the best market in the country for investing in flips.

Want a market thats booming?

Go to Etsy and search for "rental property tracker," and you will find hundreds of nice spreadsheets to track 10-20 rentals, usually for under $10.Software has extremely helpful features like online payments, marketing syndication (click a button, and your property is advertised on multiple sites), electronic document review/signing, maintenance tracking, and owner reports.