DSCR deals still pencil here when they don't in Austin.
Killeen runs on Fort Hood and its housing allowance. USA Mortgage funds investors across the Killeen-Temple metro. The spread gets made at purchase here, not on appreciation. Business-purpose loans only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
You deal with the people who fund it, not a committee.
Fort Hood is the economy
The installation generates $37.9 billion in economic output and supports 159,692 total jobs, with 34,474 active-duty troops and 126,225 retirees using the post. That is a government-anchored tenant base, not a boom-and-bust one, and the metro's 2026 BAH rates of $1,374 to $1,695 a month sit almost exactly on top of actual rents.
The lowest entry point on I-35
Killeen's mid-tier home value was $220,742 in June 2026 and Temple's $249,750, putting the metro at $252,706 against $281,844 in San Antonio and $433,986 in Austin. Gross yields on Zillow's value and rent data run 6.4% to 6.9% in Killeen, Temple, and Harker Heights, which is why DSCR deals pencil here when they don't in the bigger Texas metros.
A flat market that rewards discipline
Median list price is down 3.4% year over year and 11.2% off the 2023 peak, with 72 median days on market and roughly a third of listings carrying a price cut as of July 2026. The spread on a flip gets made at purchase, not banked on appreciation, and PCS-driven turnover under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act keeps motivated sellers and rehab demand steady year-round.
Loan programs in Killeen
Acquisition through exit, all funded or arranged by one lender.
Yes, across the whole Killeen-Temple metro. We are a Texas direct lender headquartered in Bee Cave, and we fund deals in Killeen, Temple, Harker Heights, Belton, Copperas Cove, Nolanville, Salado, and Troy. Most of that footprint is Bell County; Copperas Cove sits in Coryell County, so its tax and permit rules run through a different courthouse. The metro added roughly 24,000 residents between 2021 and 2025, growing about 1.2% a year, every year positive. Every loan is business-purpose only, on investment property, and terms are subject to underwriting. See how we lend across Texas or talk to us.
Why does Fort Hood matter when you underwrite a Killeen rental?
Because a federal housing allowance sets both the rent floor and the rent ceiling. Fort Hood, redesignated back from Fort Cavazos in a ceremony held July 28, 2025, this time honoring WWI Distinguished Service Cross recipient Col. Robert B. Hood, generates $37.9 billion in economic output and supports 159,692 total jobs, with 34,474 active-duty troops and 126,225 military retirees using the installation. The 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing at Fort Hood runs $1,374 to $1,695 a month across the junior-enlisted grades, which brackets actual metro rents almost exactly: $1,254 in Killeen and $1,612 in Harker Heights as of June 2026. Underwrite to the paygrade of the likely tenant, not to a national rent-growth assumption. There is also a structural churn factor: under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. section 3955), a tenant with PCS or deployment orders can break a lease on 30 days notice with no early-termination charge, so model turnover into the pro forma rather than treating vacancy as a surprise. See the DSCR program. Subject to underwriting.
What does the Bell CAD tax stack run on a Killeen rental with no homestead exemption?
Budget roughly 2.0% of assessed value, with no homestead relief for an investor. The Tax Appraisal District of Bell County's 2025 rate table puts the Killeen stack at county 0.3128 plus road district 0.0199 plus city of Killeen 0.7014 plus Killeen ISD 0.8778 plus Central Texas College 0.09, which sums to about 2.00 per $100 of value. Killeen ISD's 0.8778 rate is the metro's tax advantage: Temple ISD runs 1.1372 and Belton ISD 1.1494, roughly 26 to 27 cents higher. Both Killeen and Temple raised their city rates for fiscal 2026, Killeen by 8.2% and Temple by 11.72%, so carry costs are rising, not falling. Check the parcel before you underwrite: Bell County MUD overlays run 0.783 to 1.000 per $100 on top of everything else, which can push a new-build lot near or above a 3% total stack. Talk to your CPA or tax advisor about your own position.
What does Killeen's short-term rental permit under ordinance section 31-953 cost?
$200 up front, $100 a year, and no density cap. Killeen legalized and permits short-term rentals under Code of Ordinances section 31-953, effective October 1, 2023, with registration through the city's vendor portal opening May 1, 2024. The current fee schedule prices it at $200 for the initial permit and inspection, $100 for annual renewal, and $75 for a re-inspection. A proposed 200-foot spacing rule between STRs was dropped before the ordinance passed, so there is no density limit. Temple's short-term rental posture has not been confirmed, so do not assume Killeen's rules apply there; check with the city directly before you buy for that use. See the fix and flip program. Subject to underwriting.
Median list is 11.2% off the 2023 peak. How should that change my Killeen underwrite?
The spread gets made at purchase, not at exit. Median list price in the Killeen-Temple MSA was $289,000 in July 2026, down 3.4% from a year earlier and 11.2% off the July 2023 peak, with homes taking a median of 72 days to sell and roughly a third of the 2,401 active listings carrying a price cut that month. That is a slow bleed, not a crash, but it means a flip has to be bought right rather than banking on appreciation to bail out the exit. On the sourcing side, Texas foreclosure sales are non-judicial and run on the first Tuesday of the month at the county courthouse under Property Code section 51.002, and PCS-driven moves around Fort Hood add a steady stream of motivated sellers outside that calendar. Entry basis is also the lowest on the I-35 corridor: Killeen's mid-tier home value was $220,742 in June 2026 against $249,750 in Temple, so the same rehab budget goes further here than in Waco or San Antonio. See the fix and flip program. Subject to underwriting.
What credit score do I need for a Killeen investor loan?
It depends entirely on which program you are in. On our asset-based loans, fix and flip, bridge, and construction, there is no minimum score: we run credit, but it carries far less weight than it would at a bank, and weak credit is usually answered with lower leverage rather than a decline. DSCR and bank statement files start at 640, conventional investment starts at 580, and transactional funding has no credit check at all. There is no hard credit pull to start a conversation. Subject to underwriting.
What do I bring on a $220,000 Killeen purchase, program by program?
Between nothing and a fifth of the price, depending on the program. Fix and flip funds up to 90% of the purchase and up to 100% of the rehab, capped to ARV, so on a $220,000 Killeen purchase, close to the city's $220,742 mid-tier value, that is up to $198,000 from us and $22,000 from you (220,000 x 90% = 198,000). A DSCR rental runs up to 80% LTV, which on the same price is $176,000 from us and $44,000 from you (220,000 x 80% = 176,000). Ground up construction lends up to 85% of cost and 70% LTV, and transactional funding covers up to 100% of the A-to-B purchase. Subject to underwriting.
Killeen's mid-tier house is $220,742. Does a leveraged purchase clear your loan minimum?
$100,000 on most residential programs, which matters in the lowest-basis metro on I-35. Fix and flip, DSCR, and bank statement loans all start at $100,000; portfolio loans start at $500,000 across 5 or more properties; SBA files start at $350,000. With Killeen's mid-tier home value at $220,742, a leveraged purchase clears the residential floor comfortably, but a deeply discounted door can land under it once leverage comes off the price. Check the loan amount, not just the purchase price, before you write the offer. Subject to underwriting.
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 2026-08-12.
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