How it works
How does a hybrid spec home get built?
A landowner offers a lot. A builder checks it and pairs it with priced plans. A broker lists the lot and home together. A buyer chooses, signs and closes financing. Then the builder builds.
AI-generated illustration
The sequence
Six steps, in this order.
The order is the point. The site is checked before the price is set, and the buyer commits before anything is built.
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The lot joins the program
Landowner + broker
The landowner lists the lot with the brokerage and agrees a lot price, a time window and access for testing. The owner keeps title and can still use the land.
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The site is checked
Builder + broker
Survey, soil and septic, slope, driveway access, utilities, setbacks and any covenants are reviewed. The result is a buildable area and an estimate of site costs. A lot that fails the check is not offered.
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Plans are paired and priced
Builder
The builder picks the plans from its library that fit this lot and sets one price for each pairing, land and home together, with a date the price is good through.
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One listing goes to market
Broker
Each pairing is listed as a home to be built, with drawings, a rendering marked as a rendering, the price and the options list. Buyers see a home, and the lot it will stand on.
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A buyer commits and selections lock
Buyer + all parties
The buyer picks the lot, the plan, a finish collection and any priced options, signs the agreements and closes financing. Selections lock at a set date before permits are filed.
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The home is built and handed over
Builder
Construction runs to the builder’s published schedule with regular progress updates. It ends with a final walk-through, the certificate of occupancy and the builder’s warranty.
The trade
What stays fixed, and what you choose.
Fixed, from spec
- The floor plan and structure. Engineered once and built the same way each time.
- The base price. Published for each lot and plan pair.
- The schedule. A build the crew has run before.
- The specification. The same materials list behind every finish collection.
Yours, from custom
- The lot. View, privacy, slope, distance to town.
- The plan. From the plans that fit that lot.
- The finish collection. A coordinated set of surfaces, fixtures and colors.
- Priced options. Items such as a finished basement, an extra garage bay or a covered porch, each with a set price.
The money
Two ways the purchase can close.
The path decides when the landowner is paid and who finances construction. The pilot starts with the first.
Path A · Pilot default
Buyer’s construction loan
The buyer closes a construction-to-permanent loan before the build. The lot transfers at that closing and the landowner is paid then. The lender pays the builder in stages as work is completed.
- The landowner is paid before construction starts.
- The builder does not finance the land or the build.
- The buyer needs to qualify for a construction loan.
Path B · Case by case
Close at completion
The builder finances construction and the buyer closes with a standard mortgage when the home is finished. The landowner is paid at that final closing, so the land must be protected by a written agreement while the home is built.
- Open to buyers who do not want a construction loan.
- The landowner waits longer and carries more exposure.
- Used only with an attorney-drafted agreement for that deal.
This page describes the program in general terms. It is not lending, legal or tax advice. Loan products and their requirements vary by lender.
Follow the money
Who is paid, and when.
On the pilot’s default path there is one closing before the build and a series of lender draws during it. Nobody is paid on a promise.
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At contract
Buyer pays in
The buyer signs the lot purchase agreement and the construction contract together, and pays earnest money and the builder’s deposit. Each contract depends on the other.
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At the loan closing
Landowner + brokerage paid
The buyer’s construction loan closes. The lot transfers to the buyer and the landowner receives the lot price. Brokerage commissions are paid as the signed agreements say.
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During the build
Builder paid in stages
The lender releases a draw to the builder as each stage is finished and inspected: foundation, framing, dry-in, finishes. The buyer pays interest only on what has been drawn.
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At completion
Final draw, keys, warranty
After the final walk-through and the certificate of occupancy, the last draw is released, the loan converts to the buyer’s permanent mortgage and the builder’s warranty begins.
A general description of a one-time-close construction loan. Draw schedules, deposits and conversion terms are set by the lender and the signed contracts. How the loan works, step by step.
Questions
Asked first.
Is a hybrid spec home a custom home?
No. You choose from the builder’s set plans, a finish collection and a priced options list. You do not redesign the floor plan. That limit is what keeps the price and schedule known up front.
Is anything built before a buyer signs?
No home is started without a committed buyer. A builder and landowner may agree to build one model home together so buyers can walk through a finished example. That is a separate decision for each community.
What happens if the buyer backs out?
If a buyer withdraws before closing, the lot and plan pairing goes back on offer. Because construction has not started, there is no unsold house. Deposits are handled as the signed agreements say.
Who owns the land during the process?
The landowner keeps title until a buyer closes. On the pilot’s default path the lot transfers to the buyer at the construction loan closing, before the build begins.
Who represents whom?
The brokerage in that market lists the lot and home for the landowner and builder. Hybrid Spec Homes, the company, represents no one in the sale. A buyer can bring their own agent. Every agency relationship and all compensation is disclosed in writing before anyone signs.
Is Hybrid Spec Homes a brokerage?
No. Hybrid Spec Homes is an independent company that runs the program. A licensed brokerage in each market lists the homes and handles the sale. In North Georgia that brokerage is Gold Peach Realty.
Where is the program available?
The pilot is in North Georgia, with Gold Peach Realty as the brokerage. No lots or plans have been published yet. Other markets open when a licensed brokerage there joins.
Start a conversation
Bring a lot, a plan, or a question.
Gold Peach Realty is the brokerage for the North Georgia pilot. Call or write and say whether you build, own land, want a home, or run a brokerage.