Cost to Build a Home in Florida

Hi Carl:
I want to build my home in Florida; any idea what cost would be to build small two level home in Sebring Florida on the lake?
Also, any idea of a combo to buy land to build and financing?

Thanks for your input,
Adela


Hi Adela,

Here’s a neat Florida lake house from HousePlansandMore.com (HAD, Inc) with only 1,484 sq ft of heated area. With the porch, daylight walkout basement and lots of glass it gives you an open feeling and it’s perfect for any setting.

Look for a sloping lot so you can have that airy walkout basement for cheap expandable space. Since most lakes have land sloping toward the water, that sloping lot shouldn’t be hard to find.

As for the financing, work with a Realtor to find the land and they could help you find the best financing. Part of the land may be able to be financed, but in today’s lending market, most lenders want 25% down on new construction.

Stick with local banks and credit unions…they care about you.

House Plan #592-032D-0033



• 1484 Total Square Feet
• 1st Floor 908
• 2nd Floor 576
• Width: 27'-8" Depth: 48'-0"
• 3 Bedrooms
• 2 Full Baths, 0 Half Bath
• Foundation - Walkout Basement
• Fireplace
• 2 X 6 walls
• Screened Porch/Three Season Room

HousePlansandMore.com estimates that this house would cost $200,340 to build in Sebring FL. That equals $135 per sq ft, including General Contractor markup.

I ran the house through the "Cost to Build Calculator" on my "Getting Started" page and came up with $158,040.00 (including a General Contractor's markup of $20,090), or $107 per sq ft.

Two things to keep in mind as to these estimates.
1. The variance of $42,000 is not unusual. I selected the minimum quality of custom home building materials all the way through the house. I'm sure houseplansandmore.com chose a higher quality.
2. Both estimates are "rough" estimates.

Recommended reading: Cost Estimating

Good luck,
Carl Heldmann, byoh.com