Any tips on how to go about building a house?

A real estate prospector recently bought the 4 acres that surrounds our house. After unsuccessfully trying to buy part of the property in order to prevent it from being developed into an office park, I'm seriously exploring the option of buying ALL the land from him and developing it myself by building the minimum number of houses possible in order to cover the cost of buying the land and breaking even in order to keep most of it pristine. (This way I would also be able to control what is built there, and where.) What I'm looking for is any and all suggestions, tips, warnings, and pitfalls in going about doing this. In particular, suggestions on township building regulations, finding good builders, and how financing for small developments like this usually work would be greatly appreciated.