For ground-up inspector spec or builder development, we're usually topping out at 80% of cost (land plus construction plus soft costs) up to 70% of As Completed Value.

@John N CookIf you have $200K + in retirement funds, other capital, experience with construction, and want to explore creating a real estate development company doing 3+ flips or spec homes per year, check out a ROBS.  

I've been both flipping and building specs in Chattanooga (I live here) for about ten years now. 

And let me tell you spec loans from banks dont grow on trees.. especially for guys like us that are not in market..

I'm located in Melbourne and do some investing in Palm Bay, are you building spec homes?

I did all the repairs per spec and under budget and was even able to add four palm trees to the front, a pool heater and fence in the backyard which should have made the value go up! 

it's hard to do that as an agent, easy to do as a spec or volume builder or developer if you have floorplans you like, etc. we build triplexes happy to chat and help you understand the market better here and see if new construction is for you 

We are going to be buying property and building a spec home shortly and need to understand the pros and cons of doing this deal through an LLC vs. as individuals, from a tax perspective.

There are also Conventional rehab loan options that may or may not work, depending on the deal specs. 

For instance, a customer might be doing a ground-up spec build and we might say "Lesser of 80% of cost or 70% of ARV".