Home builders · Broward County, South Florida
Your new home in Broward County, built to the hurricane code with a price cap in the contract
Permits, inspections and the hurricane-zone code are part of the job. The contract sets a maximum price, you pay in four stage payments, and the work carries a 3-year warranty.
Broward County
Broward County home builders that take a new house from your lot to the keys
Broward County home builders include companies that sell houses in their own communities and general contractors that build on your lot. Florida Home Build is a general contractor. You sign one contract with one company, and we run the permits, the inspections and the construction through to handover.
Broward has 31 municipalities. The city your lot sits in, or the county if the lot is unincorporated, decides which building office reviews your plans. On a Broward project we handle the construction process from end to end:
- A free preliminary estimate before you commit.
- City or county permits and inspections, filed with the office your address belongs to.
- Homeowners association submissions, if your neighborhood has an association.
- A house designed to the high-velocity hurricane code that covers Broward.
- A contract with cost plus a fixed fee and a price cap, so the contractor pays anything above the cap.
- A reply within a day of your request, from a team that speaks English, Spanish or Russian.
We handle residential construction and custom home construction across Broward County, and across South Florida in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. Our projects start at a $250,000 budget.
Your money
How a Miami home build works when you're not paying ahead
4 payments, not a big deposit
At signing, at the start of work, at the midpoint and at about 99% completion. Each payment is for a stage you have approved.
A price cap in the contract
Cost plus a fixed fee, with a maximum price. Savings stay with you. Anything above the cap is paid by the builder.
Every bid and invoice in view
A shared budget tracker shows each subcontractor bid, each change and each invoice.
One contractor, one contract
The same permanent subcontractors on every job, and one company answering for all of them.
3-year warranty, exclusions in writing
The warranty term is a number in your contract, and so is the list of what it does not cover.
An answer in under 24 hours
By phone, WhatsApp, text or email, in English, Spanish or Russian.
Before you sign
How to compare general contractors in Broward County before you sign
Compare Broward general contractors on the contract, because the price on page one tells you little. Five points decide who carries the risk: how the price is capped, how payments are timed, what the price leaves out, who files the permits and what the warranty excludes.
- 01
A cap on the price.
In a cost plus contract, ask for a maximum price in writing and for who pays when costs go above it.
Ours is cost plus a fixed fee with a price cap, and the contractor pays anything above it.
- 02
Payments tied to stages.
Ask how large the first payment is and what it pays for. When it is more than 10% of the price, Florida law (s. 489.126) requires the contractor to apply for the permit within 30 days and start work within 90 days after the permits, with some exceptions.
Ours are four payments tied to stages: at signing, at the start of work, at the midpoint and at about 99% completion.
- 03
What the price leaves out.
Ask for the list in writing.
In our construction price, the land, architect and designer fees, permit fees, surveys, furniture and landscaping are separate.
- 04
Who files the permits.
Ask who files them and who handles the inspections.
On our projects both are part of the job.
- 05
A warranty with the exclusions written down.
Ours is 3 years on the work, and the list of exclusions sits in your contract.
Prices per square foot for each type of lot are on the pricing and terms page.
Get my estimateOut of state
Building a house in Miami while you live somewhere else
- A client portal with the schedule, selections, photos, inspections and invoices
- Video at every stage and drone footage of the site
- Cameras on site, so you can look in any day
- A weekly confirmation of next steps from your superintendent
- A project manager who speaks English, Spanish or Russian
Broward rules
Broward County rules that shape a new home before the first drawing
Five rules reach a new home in Broward before the design is final: the hurricane code, the minimum seawall height, the office that issues your permit, county licenses for water and trees, and the flood maps. Each can change the structure, the budget or the order of approvals, so check them before the first drawing.
| Rule | What applies | What it changes in your build |
|---|---|---|
01Hurricane code | Broward and Miami-Dade make up the high-velocity hurricane zone (HVHZ) of the Florida Building Code, and Palm Beach County sits outside it. A house in Broward is designed to a wind speed of 170 mph (2023 edition). | The structure is designed to that wind speed, and windows, doors and shutters need approval for the zone. |
02Seawall height | The county’s tidal flood protection ordinance, adopted in March 2020, sets 5 feet NAVD88 as the minimum top of new tidal barriers, or 4 feet for applications before January 1, 2035 if the wall is designed to reach 5 feet by January 1, 2050. Cities with tidal zones pass their own versions. | The number for your lot comes from your city’s code. |
03Permit office | According to the county, its Building Code Division issues permits in unincorporated areas and in cities that contract with it. In other cities the city’s own building department usually does. | Your address picks the office, and plan review and inspections follow that office’s process. |
04Water and tree licenses | The county’s Environmental Permitting Division licenses work in, on or under surface waters, such as docks, seawalls and mangrove trimming. A separate county license covers removing or relocating trees, except nuisance trees. | A lot with a waterline or mature trees can need these licenses before site work starts. City rules may differ. |
05Flood maps | Updated FEMA flood maps for Broward took effect on July 31, 2024. CBS Miami reported that tens of thousands of homeowners in west Broward were mapped into flood zones. | Check the flood zone of a lot before you buy it. With a federally backed or regulated-lender mortgage, flood insurance is required in a high-risk zone. |
These pages go deeper. Hurricane-resistant homes walks through the zone requirements part by part, and the seawall page compares heights by city. Permit expediting shows how we run permits, and waterfront construction covers lots on the water. Fort Lauderdale has its own ordinance and permit office, covered on the Fort Lauderdale page.
Start my Broward estimateAfter the keys
A 3-year home builder warranty and a full handover
- 01
3-year warranty on the work
The term and the list of exclusions are written in your contract, not explained later.
- 02
Handover package
As-built drawings, manuals, a maintenance schedule and manufacturer warranties registered in your name.
- 03
A walkthrough of every system
We walk the house with you and show how each system works before you move in.
- 04
Care after move-in
Home maintenance by arrangement, with the same team that built it.
FAQ
Questions about home builders and general contractors in Broward County
How do I choose among home builders in Broward County?
Compare what each contract puts in writing: whether the price has a cap, whether payments follow stages you approve, how long the warranty runs and who files the permits. The checklist above, “How to compare general contractors in Broward County before you sign”, walks through each point.
How much does it cost to build a house in Broward County?
Our construction price runs $450–650 per square foot on a mainland lot, $900–1,300 on canal, bay and island lots, and $1,300–1,800+ on the ocean. The exact number comes after we see your lot and plans. Land, design fees, permit fees, surveys, furniture and landscaping come on top. The pricing and terms page has the detail, and the cost to build a house in Florida article gives the statewide picture.
Is $300,000 enough to build a house in Broward County?
Our projects start at $250,000, so $300,000 is within the range we take on. What it builds depends on the size of the house and the lot, because construction is priced per square foot and the land, design fees and permit fees are separate. Send us your lot and plans, and we get back to you within a day.
Where in Broward County do you build new homes?
We work across Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Southwest Ranches, Davie, Hollywood, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point and Parkland. These pages go deeper: Fort Lauderdale, Weston and Windmill Ranch Estates, Pompano Beach, Southwest Ranches and Lighthouse Point. Palm Beach County has its own page, home builders in Palm Beach.
Does the city or the county issue my building permit in Broward County?
Your address decides: the county’s Building Code Division in unincorporated areas and contract cities, the city’s own building department usually elsewhere (see the table above). We file the permits with that office and handle the inspections.
Is a home built in Broward County hurricane proof?
No house is. Broward is in the high-velocity hurricane zone, and the code sets the standard a new home is designed and permitted to, with a design wind speed of 170 mph (2023 edition). The storm-resistant homes page shows what changes in each part of the house.
Does the county seawall height rule apply in every Broward city?
Not automatically. The county ordinance is the model, and cities with tidal zones pass their own versions; Fort Lauderdale, for example, has its own ordinance. The number for your lot comes from your city’s code, and heights by city are on the seawall page.
Which Florida Building Code edition applies to a new home in Broward County?
The 9th edition takes effect statewide on December 31, 2026. In Miami-Dade, applications filed on or after that date follow it. For a Broward lot, the building department that issues your permit confirms which edition applies to your filing date, and the permit package is filed accordingly.