At the bottom of our website we have a footer menu with two main helpful buttons:

New Construction by Community- This will give you local building department important requirements based on city or town.

Resources / Learn by Topic- This will give you valuable info on a variety of topics like understanding Flood requirements, construction loans, energy efficient homes and lots of material product types explained.

Gast Homes is a scattered lot custom home builder in Pinellas county. With limited vacant land and water concerns each building project is custom to that building lot.  For that reason we do not build multiple homes from the exact same model so we do not have standard models available.  During an Initial builders meeting sometimes we may have homes under construction that can be seen and discussed.

As seen in our Services tab there are several starting points to get going depending on where you are with your dream home. The fastest way to get moving is to fill out our Contact us form or call our office.

Gast Homes is a scattered lot custom home builder in Pinellas County Florida.  This includes the following cities & townships:

• Belleair Beach
• Clearwater Beach
• Indian Rocks Beach
• Indian Shores
• Largo
• Madeira Beach
• North Redington Beach
• Pinellas Park
• Redington Beach
• Redington Shores
• St Pete Beach
• St Petersburg
• Seminole
• Treasure Island
• Tierra Verde

Each home requires a building permit, to build the shell only and then someone else take over the work is not part of our business model.  This is often followed up by but my (insert names here) is a contractor and he can take over.  Yes, most contractors and some that even call themselves builders often are uncomfortable building the structural part of the homes shell, so they hire at high prices to build a shell for them.  We do not do partial builds no matter who it is, our super strong exterior whole house system is our trade mark and we not give it away without completing it 100%.

In market areas (outside of Florida) where we are not currently building, it is possible to sell the architecture drawings at a fee of $9.50 per total build sq ft. as a one time build only.  If your state requires structural drawings also you would need to contact an engineer in that state.

If your using a construction loan then all banks have a required minimum down payment investment.  These often range  from 5% to 30% and if you own the land its possible to use land value as your down payment.  Our building company requires a minimum of 10% down or  house plans cost and permits which ever is greater. To better understand the process review our "How To Building Guide"

Depending on where and what you build this could vary.  In most cases the time between you signing a contract and the permits are completed can range from 45 to 60 days as normal but some cites have taken six months to process permits.   Then the average time we need to build in is 12 months all depending on weather and the size of the home with 18 months on homes that exceed 3,500 sq ft. See our "Building Guide" for more details.

Normally only on a larger scale.  Because of our growth rate we find that leveraging investor's money can be the right choice for large scale sub-division, townhouse and high rise condo development.  These projects often start at several million dollars.  Investor looking for smaller amounts often find that when they package one of our new construction houses on the right lot they can get the returns they are looking for.

We can build from vacant land, tear down your existing home or help you find your perfect building lot.

If you google FEMA flood maps and enter your property address you can see what zone you are in. Zone A, AE and V will require flood insurance if you get a loan. If paying cash you will not be required to get flood insurance.  The insurance rates are skyrocketing year after year.  When you build a FEMA compliant new home often you will find the year policy price is close to what a non-FEMA compliant home rate is monthly.