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Program 04

Ground-Up Construction in Amarillo

Amarillo ground up construction loans start with the right lot.

Our construction program funds new builds up to 70% LTV and 85% of cost, with loans up to $5M and draws that keep pace with the build. Lot choice matters in Amarillo: a lot outside any city carries no city tax rate, while one inside a utility district carries that district's levy on top. Business-purpose loans only, subject to underwriting.

Ground-Up Construction in Amarillo, TX from USA Mortgage
70%
max LTV
85%
of cost
Most states
funding
$5M
max loan

Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.

How it works

We finance both the land and the vertical construction, with a draw schedule built around your timeline. Experienced builders can access higher leverage on cost.

Who it's for
Spec home builders
Developers and operators
Lot purchase or teardown
Build-to-rent strategies
Typical terms
Loan amountUp to $5M
LeverageUp to 70% LTV / 85% LTC
Term12 to 24 months
DrawsPer build schedule
RateFrom 10.00%*
UseSpec or build-to-rent
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*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.

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Local FAQ

Ground-Up Construction in Amarillo, answered.

What does an Amarillo building permit cost on a new house?
Square footage times $0.50, plus $81 plan review and a $13 technology fee. A 2,000 square foot house therefore permits for about $1,094 ($1,000 + $81 + $13). Commercial new builds are priced at value times 0.0037, with a $135 minimum. The schedule prints no effective date, so confirm the figures with Building Safety before you build a budget on them.

Sources: amarillo.gov

How long does Amarillo take to permit a new build?
It depends on whether a master plan is on file. The city's Master Plan program says to allow up to 2 to 3 weeks for the initial master plan review, after which individual projects issue within 3 to 5 business days of receipt, and inspections are scheduled for the next business day. Permitting runs through the MGO Connect portal. No timeline is published for a one-off custom house without a master plan, so a spec builder repeating a plan has a clearer schedule than a custom build.

Sources: amarillo.gov

Does Amarillo charge impact fees on new construction?
We could not confirm either way. No impact fee line appears on the city's published fee schedule and we did not locate an impact fee ordinance, but that is not evidence there are none. Ask Building Safety and your title company for a full fee list on the specific lot before you close on land.
How much does the lot's location change the tax bill?
A lot outside any city can be the lowest-tax stack in the metro. On 2025 rates, an unincorporated Bushland ISD lot carries 1.821830 per $100 on the Potter side and 1.632580 on the Randall side, with no municipal rate at all, against 2.112080 inside Amarillo on the Potter side and 1.922830 on the Randall side. A lot inside Tierra Blanca MUD #1 in Randall County adds a full 1.000000 on top of everything else. There is no homestead exemption on a spec house, and the finished house is taxed at full investor rates. Check the parcel's overlays before you close on land.

Sources: comptroller.texas.gov

What should a spec budget compare against in Amarillo and Canyon?
Declared permit value ran about $299,000 per house in Amarillo and $295,000 in Canyon in 2025. The Census Building Permits Survey recorded 529 single-family units at $158.2 million in the City of Amarillo ($158.2 million / 529) and 78 units at $23.0 million in Canyon ($23.0 million / 78). Declared value is the builder's permit figure, not a sale price, so use it as a sanity check on your cost budget rather than as a comp. The county series books all of Amarillo to Potter County even though about half the new houses are physically in Randall.

Sources: www2.census.gov

What does hail mean for a build in progress?
It is the main insurance risk, and builders risk is a real line. In 2025, paid homeowners wind and hail losses ran $3,088 per policy in Potter County and $3,270 in Randall County, about 91% of total paid losses. A 2% wind and hail deductible on a $212,000 house is about $4,240 per event. We found no published dollar figure for builders risk or vacant-dwelling premiums, so obtain bound quotes while you price the job. See the ground-up construction program page for how draws work.

Sources: tdi.texas.gov

More Ground-Up Construction questions, answered on the program page

Resources

Guides for Ground-Up Construction

Fix and Flip · 6 min read
Fix and Flip Loan Requirements: What You Need to Get Funded
Read the guide
Fix and Flip · 5 min read
What Is ARV (After-Repair Value) and How Do You Calculate It?
Read the guide
Construction · 5 min read
How Ground-Up Construction Loans Work
Read the guide
Getting Funded · 4 min read
LTV vs LTC: What's the Difference?
Read the guide
Browse all guides
More in Amarillo

Other programs in Amarillo

Second MortgageKeep your first mortgageFix and FlipUp to 90% / 100% rehabRental / DSCR30-yr fixed, DSCR from 0.75CRE BridgeUp to $10M, 24-36 moTransactional FundingSame-day double-close capitalBank Statement / No-DocNo tax returns requiredConventional InvestmentNon-owner-occupied investmentPortfolio LoansMultiple properties, one loanCRE PermanentLong-term agency & permSBA Financing7(a) & 504 placement

Ground-Up Construction elsewhere in Texas

All Amarillo loan programs
About the local figures on this page

Local rules move. Every tax rate, fee, ordinance and market figure here comes from a primary source and carries the date we read it, and we correct them as the rules change. Where a number is mid-change or we could not verify it, we say so rather than guess. Before you commit a budget, confirm anything that drives it with the city or county, and talk to your attorney or CPA on questions of law or tax.

Published by USA Mortgage Funding, LLC, NMLS #152588. Researched from primary sources by our team, drafted with AI assistance, and every figure checked against its source before publishing. Where an answer rests on a public record, that record is linked under it. Figures read on 2026-09-04.

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