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Bakersfield Hard Money and Investor Loans

Kern County got its own state drilling law that no other county has.

USA Mortgage funds investors across Bakersfield. Kern carries California's lowest entry basis among major metros. Oil funds Kern's tax base, not its payroll. Every loan is business-purpose only, subject to underwriting.

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The lowest entry basis of California's major metros

Bakersfield's home values sit well under Fresno, Riverside, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego, while rents hold up against that lower basis. The rent-to-value relationship here runs ahead of every other major California metro, so debt service coverage clears in a state where it usually does not.

Oil funds the county, government and health care fund the payroll

Oil and gas make up a meaningful share of Kern's tax base but a small slice of direct employment. Government is the county's largest employer, with health care and social assistance close behind and growing fast, which makes the tenant base steadier than an oilfield headline suggests.

One county, but not one tax rate

Kern's property tax rate areas number in the thousands and vary by school and water district bonds, not by city line. A purchase resets your parcel's assessed value to your price, and a spring closing can trigger supplemental bills for two fiscal years, so pull the exact rate area before you underwrite.

Loan programs in Bakersfield

Acquisition through exit, all funded or arranged by one lender.

Fix and Flip in BakersfieldRental / DSCR in BakersfieldGround-Up Construction in BakersfieldCRE Bridge in BakersfieldTransactional Funding in BakersfieldBank Statement / No-Doc in BakersfieldConventional Investment in BakersfieldPortfolio Loans in BakersfieldCRE Permanent in BakersfieldSBA Financing in Bakersfield

Bakersfield lending questions

Do you lend across the whole Bakersfield metro, not just the city?
Yes, across Kern County. We fund deals in Bakersfield, Delano, Shafter, Wasco, Taft, Tehachapi, Arvin, Ridgecrest, and California City, all inside the Bakersfield metro. We're headquartered in Bee Cave, Texas, and every loan is business-purpose only, on investment property, with terms subject to underwriting. See how we lend across California or talk to us.
What happened with Kern County oil and gas permitting?
The legislature wrote Kern a permitting fix in 2025, and the county reopened its permit portal in January 2026. A 2024 court ruling had stopped Kern from issuing local oil and gas permits over CEQA findings. Senate Bill 237, signed September 19, 2025, deems the county's revised environmental review sufficient, caps new-well notices of intention at 2,000 per calendar year statewide, and repeals itself January 1, 2036. Permitting volume rose sharply in early 2026 after several years at a near-standstill. Talk to your own advisors about how this affects any specific parcel or plan. See the bridge loan program. Subject to underwriting.
Is oil still the biggest employer in Kern County?
No. Oil is a large piece of the tax base, not the payroll. Mining and logging, which includes oilfield work, employed about 6,700 people in the Bakersfield metro in June 2026, a small share of total nonfarm employment. Government was the largest employment supersector at 71,500 jobs, ahead of trade and transportation at 59,600 and health care and social assistance at 55,700. Oil and gas property still made up 8.7% of the county's 2025-2026 assessment roll. Underwrite the tenant base on government, health care, and logistics, not on oilfield payroll. Subject to underwriting.
How does Prop 13 affect what I'll owe in property tax after I buy?
Your purchase resets the assessed value to what you paid, and Kern adds a supplemental bill on top. Every change of ownership is a reassessment event under Proposition 13, after which the assessed value can rise at most 2% a year. Kern's tax rate areas run from about 1.03% to 1.27% of assessed value depending on the exact parcel, so pull the rate for your parcel rather than a countywide average. A purchase between the January 1 lien date and May 31 also triggers a supplemental assessment for both the current and the following fiscal year. Talk to your CPA about your own numbers. See the DSCR program. Subject to underwriting.
Can I run a short-term rental in Bakersfield?
Bakersfield legalized short-term rentals in 2026, with no grandfathering for existing operators. The City Council adopted its first short-term rental ordinance on June 11, 2026, taking effect roughly 30 days later. Reported requirements include a renewable city permit, a business tax certificate, liability insurance, and platform-collected occupancy tax, though the adopted text should be confirmed before you rely on specifics. Unincorporated Kern County runs a separate and lighter regime built around a free transient occupancy tax certificate. Verify current rules for your exact parcel before you buy for this use. See the fix and flip program. Subject to underwriting.
What credit score do I need to borrow in Bakersfield?
It depends on the program, and on the asset-based loans there is no minimum at all. Fix and flip, bridge and construction are underwritten on the property and the equity, so we run credit but set no floor, and weaker credit is usually answered with lower leverage rather than a decline. DSCR and bank statement start at 640, conventional investment at 580, and transactional funding has no credit check at all. No hard credit pull to start. See the DSCR program. Subject to underwriting.
How much do I need to put down on a Bakersfield investment property?
Between about 10% and 20%, depending on the program. On a fix and flip we fund up to 90% of purchase and up to 100% of rehab, capped to ARV, so a $350,000 Bakersfield purchase is up to $315,000 from us and $35,000 from you (350,000 x 90% = 315,000). On a DSCR or conventional rental we go up to 80% LTV, so the same purchase is $280,000 from us and $70,000 from you (350,000 x 80% = 280,000). Budget the Kern County tax reset on top, since your bill is set off your purchase price. See the fix and flip program. Subject to underwriting.
What is the smallest loan you will write in Bakersfield?
$100,000 on most programs. Fix and flip runs $100,000 to $5 million, DSCR and bank statement $100,000 to $3 million, portfolio loans start at $500,000, and SBA starts at $350,000. The floor matters more in Kern County than in most of California, because the entry basis here is the lowest of the state's major metros, so one cheap door can price under the minimum even when the deal works. Send us the address and we will tell you which program fits. See loan programs. Subject to underwriting.
I have never done a deal in Bakersfield. Do you lend to first-timers?
Yes. First-time flippers are welcome. On the asset-based programs the deal carries the file: purchase price, rehab budget, exit. There is no minimum credit score on fix and flip, bridge or construction, and no hard credit pull to start. Ground up is the one place a track record moves the number, since experienced builders can access higher leverage. Start conservative on a first Kern County deal. See the fix and flip program. Subject to underwriting.
Serving Bakersfield and nearby
DelanoShafterWascoTaftTehachapiArvinRidgecrestCalifornia City
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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 2026-08-15.

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