About the neck, well... if you want to enjoy seriously, just do it. You'll feel like god when you're done. Only cowards skip the neck in the first build...
I had access only to sapelle and ash locally, there in Spain. Also walnut, but I never liked that wood. Sapelle is cheap and has a good sound, the only problem is the weight. And since I have to order some parts and woods anyway, I finally bought mostly on Madinter. You can get wood to make the body, top, neck, fingerboard and headstock for 150€ more or less - that was what I spent in the 7 strings -. They have alder body blanks already glued and planned for 60€, like the one I'm using in my current build. They are very light and look quite nice. And easy to work.
You can get very cheap parts from China on Ebay. Some sellers don't charge anything or just few euros for the delivery, but sometimes it takes long, up to four weeks... the good thing is that you can buy just a screw or a spring for 0,10€ and they send to you for free, wherever in the word you are.
Collecting all the tools is probably the most complicated and expensive aspect of the whole thing IMO. It will define your workflow and you'll have to take decisions depending on the tools you have... but there are some which are a must, like the press drill I don't have and I need so much now... ^^
Happy building!