You will want to understand any loan fees, estimate cost to close, prepayment terms, what needs prepaid, what the draw schedule and fees are, reserve requirements, etc.  

My professional education taught me to remove emotions from any decision by using only the best data to draw a conclusion.

Building indoors, even if it is a small space, can be easily accomplished with an unskilled, less expensive workforce when they are given 3D work instructions on monitors or tablets similar to the drawings provided when assembling a cabinet from IKEA.

It should work the same as co-owning any property in a normal partnership scenario, although you might have to draw up formal partnership documents in case it ever were to get challenged. 

As you probably know you have to be fast on the draw right now.

I have not done one but if your a DIY person, you can do your own everything, including permits and drawings. 

It is a lake house so winters are not a big draw.

As Gene mentions, you can tell a lot from people about if they respond to emails/voicemails, if they show up to your estimate on time, if they get you a bid back when they promised.One final note, when you are talking to them, ask about their draw schedule.  

So I say draw a big circle around DFW area and look around that circle edge….and possibly outside it….so for example on the north side Justin and Ponder and as you move along the circle...Denton and Krum, Aubrey, Sanger, Pilot Point, Prosper, Melissa, Anna, Princeton, and north to Sherman and Denison and all the small towns in between there and McKinney.

I just take occasional drawings from my rentals for my personal expenses.