Question 1

What property taxes should I budget for an El Paso flip?

Accepted Answer

Plan on roughly 2.64% of value in the city, and check for a MUD before you underwrite carry. A City of El Paso, El Paso ISD stack runs about 2.643693 per $100 of assessed value: county 0.458889, the R. E. Thomason General Hospital District 0.240892, El Paso County Community College 0.103563, City of El Paso 0.759649 and El Paso ISD 1.080700 (Texas Comptroller 2025 Tax Rates and Levies). Investment property gets no homestead relief, so the full bill hits from day one, roughly $6,287 a year on the city's $237,834 mid-tier home. The newest-looking inventory is the trap: a far east side parcel in a Paseo del Este MUD, which run 0.6237 to 0.8018 per $100 on top of the base stack, can push the total near or above 3.3 per $100. Talk to your CPA about how the carry affects your specific hold period.

Question 2

What do El Paso permit fees add to a flip budget?

Accepted Answer

The published per-square-foot scale covers new construction and additions, so on a rehab it is the review and inspection lines that matter. The City of El Paso's FY2026 fee schedule prices new single-family construction and additions per square foot on a sliding scale: $0.87 per square foot up to 1,299 square feet, $0.82 from 1,300 to 2,399, down to $0.61 above 4,400, so a 2,000 square foot addition or new build runs about $1,640 before the technology fee, roughly three times the comparable Killeen permit. Straight rehab work is not priced on that scale, and the city does not publish a review turnaround in business days, so plan around the posted line items instead: a $200 submittal fee for expedited residential review, $256 plus $94 an hour of plan review on permits valued under $300,000, $212 for a plan re-submission, and inspections at $110 during business hours or $127 after hours. Working without a permit triples the fee. Build those into your fix and flip loan budget before you schedule contractors.

Question 3

Do El Paso flips pencil when deal sizes run this small?

Accepted Answer

Only if you're comfortable with a small loan balance. At a 70%-of-ARV structure, a $200,000 exit implies a loan near $140,000, and in the lower valley submarkets, San Elizario at $181,064 and Fabens at $167,675 mid-tier (June 2026 Zillow), the arithmetic drops well under $130,000. Deal size, not deal quality, is the gating question in this market. No El Paso-specific flip rate or margin has been published, so the honest fallback is the Texas statewide figure: a 9.9% flip rate and 5.6% gross ROI in the first quarter of 2026, before rehab, carry, financing and selling costs. Run your specific numbers on the fix and flip calculator before you make an offer.

Question 4

Is El Paso's exit market actually improving, or is that just a rate quote?

Accepted Answer

It's improving, and El Paso is an outlier for it. In the year to June 2026, El Paso was the only large Texas metro where home values (up 1.7%) and rents both rose, while Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Killeen all fell. On the listing side, active inventory dropped 15.4% year over year in July 2026, pending listings rose 10.6%, and the median list price climbed to $310,450. That's a tightening market, not a growth-story market: the county's population is essentially flat and losing domestic migrants, so the exit strength is coming from scarce supply, not an influx of buyers. Underwrite the flip on today's inventory and days-on-market numbers, not a population narrative borrowed from Austin or Dallas.

Question 5

Can I exit an El Paso flip as a short-term rental instead of a resale?

Accepted Answer

It's an option, but the tax picture just changed. On June 9, 2026, El Paso City Council voted to begin collecting hotel occupancy tax on short-term rentals, with collections starting 90 to 180 days after adoption, putting first collections between roughly September and December 2026. The city estimates the change will bring in about $3.5 million a year, and roughly 81% of local short-term listings are already advertised through Airbnb. Whether the city requires a separate STR permit or registration, and at what combined tax rate, hasn't been confirmed from a current source, so budget for the hotel occupancy tax and confirm the rest with the city before you commit to an STR exit strategy.

Question 6

How much of my fix and flip deal will USA Mortgage finance?

Accepted Answer

We fund up to 90% of the purchase price and up to 100% of your rehab budget, with the total capped against the after-repair value (ARV). Rehab money is released in draws as the work is completed.

Question 7

What interest rate and points should I expect on a flip loan?

Accepted Answer

Our fix and flip pricing starts around 9.99%, interest-only, with origination typically 1 to 3 points depending on your experience, leverage, and the deal, and every quote is subject to underwriting. Across the market most flip loans run roughly 9% to 12%. On most flip loans, including ours, interest is charged on the full loan amount, rehab budget included. Paying interest only on rehab funds as you draw them exists in the market, but it is the exception, not the rule.

Question 8

Do I need flipping experience to qualify?

Accepted Answer

No. We work with first-time flippers as well as full-time operators. Experience mainly affects your leverage and rate, since a longer track record earns higher loan-to-cost and better pricing. A newer investor can still get funded with a sound deal, a realistic budget, and a clear exit.

Question 9

How fast can a fix and flip loan close?

Accepted Answer

We can get you a term sheet the same day on a complete application, and we typically fund within 48 hours of clear title. The main variable is how fast title and insurance come together, which is why a full close usually runs 5 to 7 days. Because we are the lender and underwrite in house, there is no second layer of approval to wait on.

Question 10

Is there a prepayment penalty if I sell quickly?

Accepted Answer

No. Our fix and flip loans have no prepayment penalty, so paying off early when the property sells costs you nothing extra. Terms run 6 months, and because there is no penalty, selling sooner never costs you extra.

Question 11

Do you check credit or require income documents?

Accepted Answer

We run credit, but this is an asset-based loan, so the property, your budget, and the ARV matter most. We do not ask for W-2s or tax returns to qualify a flip. We will want to confirm you have reserves to carry the project to its exit.

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