I completely agree that doing my homework, educating myself and asking the right questions is extremely important in selecting the right PMC, and I am thankful for the information that you provided.I also believe that this forum was designed for people to share their personal experiences with others, which is why I posed the question above.I DO appreciate all of the insight that you shared above, especially the series on "How to Screen a PMC Better than a Tenant." 

If the tenant does not wish to pay that yet, we'd professionally convey that we understand and that we'd be happy to re-engage in the dialogue closer to July if they would remain interested and if the home is not yet rented.2.

I'm a 30 year Aircraft Design Engineer with ALOT of CAD/CAM experience so I think we are going to offer a Design service along with our construction company.

Just be aware of the higher taxes on trusts (35% tax b4 $10,000 b4 distribution to beneficiaries), & with the exception of The Mass. business trust, trusts per se are not designed to be in a business or a trade, such as flipping properties or finding yourself inadvertently achieving 'dealer status'.

Jordan,There are single,double,and triple net leases.The ability to re-purpose the building fast and cheaply is key.Certain corporate tenants with the building design if they go out you have massive costs to get it to a rentable state for another tenant type.Case in point I know a Sonic building that has sat as a foreclosure for a year.To re-purpose it you would have to take out the drive thru stalls and the building itself is so small you can't do much with it.One key area I didn't see touched on is that YES with a TRUE triple net you do not pay for anything.With other single or doubles you might get a little more but pay for expenses so it's almost a wash in the end.The lease is guaranteed and you get mailbox money.The down side is these tenants have rents stay the same amount for long periods of time before any increases and when it does increase the rate is marginal.So when inflation kicks in year after year the returns are diminishing.If you are trying to protect your money they can be an excellent investment.Tell us more about your situation which will help.I like corner locations or right next to the corner as they hold value and are easier to re-purpose and re-rent.Even though the rent doesn't increase as much the land should be way more valuable in time unless the area dies off and growth migrates elsewhere.You can also assume loans at sometimes 90 ltv putting down just 10%.The reason is lenders see these loans as having little risk and low chance of default.I specialize in multi-family and also triple net so contact me with any questions you have.

At some point, most stop using family, some never do.If you are serious about not using your family and thier money, then design the loan so that it does what is required to do.

I simply relied on my attorney to designate the closing company that could process the deal.

It's not clear in the post.You may want to ask the loan officer about an execption on this designation which the lender may be willing to work with if you can prove to their liking it is indeed going to house your family most of the year.

My wife and I are meeting with a consultant next week to review layout and design ideas as well as furnishings. 

You'd have to establish that they're "at fault" (i.e. failed to pay rent, breached a material term of the lease, engaging in criminal activity on the property, etc).