Frequently Asked Questions

Cost depends on the type of ADU — a garage conversion generally costs less than a ground-up detached unit — plus site conditions, size, and finish level. Rather than quote a generic range, we walk your property and give you a fixed, line-item budget before construction starts.

Yes. Nearly every jurisdiction in the Orlando area requires a building permit for an ADU, and many also require a zoning review to confirm lot size, setbacks, and unit size comply with local rules. We prepare the permit package and manage the review process on your behalf.

In most cases, yes — but the specifics vary by city and county, and some jurisdictions limit short-term rentals or require the owner to live on the primary lot. We help you confirm what applies to your property before you commit to the project.

A garage conversion reuses an existing structure and foundation, which usually makes it the faster, lower-cost route. A detached, ground-up ADU costs more and takes longer but gives you more control over layout and square footage. We'll walk your site and help you weigh the two against your budget and goals.

It depends on the project type and how fast your jurisdiction moves through permitting — garage conversions typically move faster than ground-up builds. You'll get a realistic, project-specific schedule after we've walked the site.

Generally, yes. A legally permitted second dwelling adds usable square footage and functions as a documented asset at resale, and if you rent it out, it can generate income that offsets your mortgage in the meantime. The value case is strongest when the unit is fully permitted — an unpermitted structure can create problems at resale instead of solving them.

Most complete custom home projects in the Orlando area land between roughly $390,000 and $1.2 million, generally working out to $175–$300 per square foot, with high-end custom builds running $600+ per square foot. Site conditions, design complexity, and finish selections move the number more than square footage alone — you'll get a line-item budget, impact fees included, before signing a construction contract.

Most custom homes take roughly 10 to 14 months in total: about 1–2 months of design, 1–2 months of permitting, 7–9 months of construction, and a few weeks of inspections and closeout. Plan review alone through Orange County typically runs 3–6 weeks.

Impact fees are one-time charges assessed when your building permit is issued, funding the public services a new home draws on — roads, fire, law enforcement, parks, and schools. In Orange County, a typical single-family home carries close to $27,000 in non-school impact fees alone, with school fees added on top. We build these into your budget from the start rather than surprising you at permit issuance.

Yes — this is most of what we do. We start with a lot evaluation covering zoning, setbacks, survey, soil conditions, drainage, flood zone, and utility access, so the home we design actually fits what your parcel supports.

A custom home is designed around your specific plans and preferences. A spec home is built to a market-ready standard for a builder, developer, or investor to sell once it's finished. We manage both the same way — preconstruction budgeting, permitting, construction, and project management included either way.

Yes, on every project. We prepare and submit complete permit packages and manage every round of review comments with the building departments in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake counties and the municipalities within them, through final inspection.

A standard vacant turn — cleaning, paint, flooring, and minor repairs — runs 5 to 7 days. A full interior renovation with new flooring, cabinets, appliances, and fixtures runs 10 to 14 days. Light cosmetic upgrades in an occupied unit can be done in 3 to 5 days without relocating the resident. The biggest schedule lever is starting the turn at the notice date rather than the move-out date, which buys 30 to 60 days to inspect, scope, and order materials before the unit is even vacant.

A light interior refresh — paint, flooring, lighting, and minor fixture upgrades — typically runs $15,000 to $25,000 per unit in Central Florida. Full interior renovations with cabinets, counters, and appliances cost more depending on finish level. Standardizing the spec across an entire community meaningfully lowers the per-unit number through bulk material pricing.

Yes. We phase work by building, stack, or floor against your leasing calendar and set access windows with property management ahead of time, so residents know what to expect. Cosmetic occupied-unit upgrades are typically completed in 3 to 5 days with no relocation required.

Yes. Orange County classifies apartment complexes and condominiums as commercial structures, which puts multifamily projects on the commercial review track — a different process, fee schedule, and inspection sequence than single-family residential. Budgeting against residential permitting timelines is one of the most common — and most expensive — planning mistakes owners make.

Ground-up multifamily construction in the Orlando area runs roughly $300 to $350 per square foot, or approximately $84,500 to $109,000 per unit — slightly below the national average and above Florida's smaller markets. Impact fees are assessed at the rate in effect on your permit application date, so submittal timing carries real dollar value on a development schedule.

The Live Local Act requires Florida local governments to administratively approve qualifying multifamily development on commercial, industrial, or mixed-use zoned land when at least 40% of units are affordable at or below 120% of area median income for 30+ years — unlocking the area's highest allowed density and height, plus reduced parking. Whether your project qualifies is a legal determination for your land-use counsel; we build to whatever approval you secure.

A basic build-out in second-generation space typically runs $50,000 to $100,000 (roughly $50–$100 per square foot). A mid-tier build-out in a vanilla shell runs $80,000 to $175,000. Shell condition — not finish level — is the single biggest driver of the number, swinging total cost 30 to 50 percent for the same finished store. You'll get an estimate tied to your actual shell condition, not a generic rule of thumb.

A dark shell is a bare structural envelope — no HVAC, plumbing, or interior walls — meaning the longest schedule and highest build-out cost. A vanilla shell already has HVAC, lighting, restrooms, and drywall in place, typically saving $50 to $80 per square foot compared to dark shell. Second-generation space was previously occupied and may retain some of the prior tenant's improvements — sometimes the fastest, cheapest path to open, sometimes not, depending on what has to come out first.

Current market ranges run $15 to $35 per square foot for second-generation retail space, $30 to $60 per square foot for new ground-up retail, and $50+ per square foot for national credit tenants in anchor positions. Get a contractor estimate against your actual shell condition before you sign the letter of intent — negotiating shell condition and TI allowance together, not separately, is what gives you real leverage.

Timeline depends almost entirely on shell condition and permitting — a light refresh in second-generation space moves fastest, while a full build-out from dark shell takes longest because every trade starts from scratch. Plan review through Orange County's FastTrack portal generally runs 10 to 30 days for a complete submittal. We scope your specific timeline during the shell-condition walk.

Yes, on the same commercial review track as other Orange County commercial projects. Build-outs also carry ADA accessibility requirements regardless of size, and any tenant with a food or beverage component can trigger health department review even without being a full restaurant — we flag which requirements apply during the initial walk.

Yes. We run prototype build-outs to a brand's spec across multiple Central Florida locations under one contractor, keeping schedule and cost consistent store to store instead of coordinating a different GC per site.