I'm in the same boat - hoping to start building next fall and doing my own general contracting. Unfortunately, also hoping to unload my current place on the market next summer before I start building.
On another front, any article that suggests living in Youngstown, OH because of the cost of buying property there is suspect. The reason it's cheap to live there is because the economy is stuck in reverse, their government is so corrupt that officials take out contract hits on each other, and Jim Trafficant is not an aberration - he's just like your other neighbors will be.
Aha, had to know there was something going on there.
Good luck selling your place. Luckily, for us, we are renting. We have lived in CO for the last year and a half, renting, knowing we weren't staying forever. My husband gets to keep his current job (programmer) so we are fortunate enough to be moving back home to the Quad Cities, in IL. The housing market there has been booming for several years. The economy seems to stay on an even plane with John Deere being located there.
btw, are you going with a traditional loan? We are going to try one of two places we found online. Haven't decided which one just yet. One is Buildmax and the other is Instant Home Equity. They will finance with little or no money down, which would be bad under normal circumstances, but when you build yourself, your equity is already present after the home is built and appraised.
Just seems like the way to go to us.