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Program 03
Ground-Up Construction in Central Valley
Ground up construction loans for builders shaping Fresno's tight supply.
We finance ground-up construction in Fresno, funding up to 70% of value and 85% of cost with draws that keep pace with your build schedule on a 12 to 24 month term. A rural lot on a private well sits inside groundwater rules working toward the state's 2040 sustainability deadline, a diligence item worth confirming before you close. The regional air district treats larger subdivisions differently than smaller ones once a project crosses into design review. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
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
*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.
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Local FAQ
Ground-Up Construction in Central Valley, answered.
Does Fresno's air district add anything to a ground-up construction timeline that a coastal builder wouldn't expect?
Yes, and it lands at entitlement, not at the building permit desk. The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's Rule 9510, Indirect Source Review, kicks in at 50 residential units and requires an Air Impact Assessment application filed no later than your application for project-level approval, ahead of a building permit. Below that threshold the rule does not apply the same way: a 49-unit subdivision and a 50-unit one sit in different regulatory worlds. Where the rule applies, a project reduces construction and operational NOx and PM10 emissions through design and on-site measures or pays for the shortfall through off-site mitigation. Size your unit count and your entitlement schedule around that trigger, not around your building permit date.
I'm buying vacant land in rural Fresno County to build on. Do I need to worry about groundwater rules?
Not a probation risk today, but a real diligence item if the lot relies on a private well. Fresno County's two main groundwater subbasins are not under state intervention: the Kings Subbasin, which underlies Fresno, Clovis and Kerman, has an approved Groundwater Sustainability Plan, and the Delta-Mendota Subbasin exited state intervention on 2026-04-07. The probationary basins that generate the headlines, Tulare Lake and Tule, sit in Kings and Tulare counties, not here. Under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, both Fresno County subbasins must still reach sustainability by 2040, which means extraction on a private-well lot is being measured and managed toward that date. Confirm the lot's water source and the governing Groundwater Sustainability Agency before you close on raw land or size a well-dependent build's carry.
How do Fresno's development impact fees actually work for a ground-up build?
Location and timing both move the number, and the number moves every year on its own. The City of Fresno's Water Capacity Fee is priced at half in core areas and infill versus greenfield, and its New Growth Area Major Street fee runs more than three times the Citywide Regional Street fee, so where you build changes the fee stack as much as what you build. Fees also escalate annually by the change in the Engineering News-Record 20-City Construction Cost Index, so a schedule quoted today is already stale by the time you pull permits, and several fees are deferrable through a Fee Deferral Covenant, a real carry-timing lever. Budget your fee stack off the City's current Master Fee Schedule at the time you apply, not off any figure you read elsewhere.
I'm building on a lot I just bought. Will my property tax bill jump once, or twice?
Twice, and a construction pro forma that only budgets one is short. Fresno County triggers a supplemental assessment on the change in ownership when you buy the lot, and a second, separate supplemental assessment when the completed construction is added to the roll. An event between January 1 and May 31 can generate two supplementals in the same year; an event from June through December generates one, with the completed-construction supplemental following once the build is done. Underwrite the purchase reassessment and the completed-construction reassessment as two distinct carrying costs, not one, and pull the parcel's tax rate area before you finalize the pro forma, since Fresno County's 2,001 tax rate areas span a spread of nearly 0.6 percentage points.
Is new construction still worth it in Fresno with permits down from the 2022 peak?
Fewer competitors are pulling permits while rent keeps climbing, which is the setup for a build, not against it. Fresno County single-family permits fell to 2,008 in 2025, down about 31% from the 2022 peak of 2,896, and permits for 5-plus-unit structures fell to 205, down about 75% from 2023. Over the same stretch metro rent rose 3.3% year over year against a 0.9% rise in values. Supply is contracting into a market where rent is outrunning price, which is the structural argument for building rather than waiting.
If I build to hold as a rental instead of selling, what does Fresno require once it's occupied?
Registration and a possible inspection, budgeted before you lease it, not after. Every residential rental property in the City of Fresno must register through the Residential Rental Registry under the Rental Housing Improvement Act, free, within 30 days of notice, with late penalties running from $100 to $1,000. New builds are sampled for proactive inspection at 100% for single units and 50% for 2-to-4-unit properties, with a $100-per-unit inspection fee due at inspection. Rent increases on the finished unit are governed by the statewide Tenant Protection Act rather than a Fresno rent-control ordinance. Fold the registration and inspection line into your build-to-rent budget, and see the DSCR rental loan program for financing the hold once construction wraps.
How much of a Fresno build do I have to fund myself?
At least 15% of total project cost. We fund up to 85% of cost and up to 70% of value, whichever binds first. On a $1,000,000 Fresno project that is up to $850,000 from us and $150,000 from you (1,000,000 x 85% = 850,000), with draws released against your build schedule rather than paid up front. Keep the city's development impact fees and both supplemental tax assessments inside that equity number, not outside it. Subject to underwriting.
Do I need a construction track record to borrow in Fresno?
Experienced builders can access higher leverage. Your track record shows up in the leverage you qualify for, and the rest of the file reads the same either way: the lot, the budget, the schedule and the exit. Bring a real scope and an entitlement path, which in Fresno means knowing whether your unit count crosses the air district's 50-unit Indirect Source Review trigger before you close. Terms run 12 to 24 months. Subject to underwriting.
Do you check credit on a Fresno ground-up construction loan?
We run credit, but there is no minimum score on this program. Construction is asset-based, so the lot, the budget and the finished value carry the file rather than a score, and weaker credit is usually handled with lower leverage rather than a decline. There is no hard pull to start a conversation, and we do not ask for W-2s or pay stubs on a build. Subject to underwriting.
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 More in Central Valley
Other programs in Central Valley
Fix 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
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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