After the land purchase, for cash, the design drawings were appraised and the selected builder was qualified by lender.

Unless you have poor credit, or you are getting a multi-family property, there isn't an advantage to getting an FHA.  

You are really going to have to define your goals with RE investing before selecting a market.

If you have one and your competition does not, you are at an advantage.

Similarly I've heard about advantages of funding investments through self-directed IRAs. 

We wanted to take advantage of Down Payment Assistance through a state program which relied on an FHA loan.

Good luck with getting started and definitely take advantage of the community here!

Buying cash definitely put you at an advantage in this market and saves you thousands on closing costs.

You can decrease or completely eliminate your monthly housing expenses, cashflow on top of that, gain appreciation, benefit from the tax advantages etc. 

This is a great place to learn and to meet people so take advantage of all the great resources.Read Beginner’s Guide to help you get started: http://www.biggerpockets.com/real-estate-investingLots of luck.