Build new in Killeen with ground up construction loans.
Built for spec home builders and developers. We fund the land and the vertical build up to 70% LTV and 85% of cost, with draws that keep pace with the job. Killeen's permits cost less, but whether a lot sits inside a MUD can swing the tax stack a full point. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.
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.
What does a Killeen building permit actually cost?
Roughly $490 all-in on a 2,000 square foot house. The city's fee schedule, effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026, prices new single-family, duplex, and townhouse construction at $0.20 per square foot with a $200 minimum, covering the structure, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and required inspections. Plan review adds $0.04 per square foot and there is a flat $10 technology and application fee. Multi-family and commercial new construction sit at the same $0.20 per square foot. It is one of the lowest-cost published new-construction fee schedules in Texas, which matters when you are sizing a spec budget.
How long does plan review take in Killeen and Temple?
Temple's own permit page states 10 business days to review and comment once the permit is paid. Killeen does not publish a review-time commitment; a permit-expediter site estimates 10 to 15 days depending on project type, with no expedited review track offered, but that figure is not confirmed against the city's own materials, so confirm the current queue with Development Services before you set a construction-loan draw schedule around it. Either way, build the calendar into the loan term rather than assuming the fastest published number.
Why does lot selection change the tax carry on a Killeen new build?
Because Bell County municipal utility districts stack a second layer of tax on top of everything else. A typical Killeen investor stack, county plus road district plus city plus Killeen ISD plus Central Texas College, runs about 2.00 per $100 of value. Bell County MUDs run separately and are large: MUD #1 at 0.783, MUD #2 at 0.950, and River Farm MUD No. 1 at 1.000 per $100 for 2025. A new-build parcel inside one of those districts can carry a total stack near or above 3% of value, a full point higher than a non-MUD lot in the same city. Check the parcel's overlays on the Bell CAD account before you underwrite carry on a build-to-hold or build-to-rent exit.
Where in the metro does new construction actually pencil?
Two corridors: the I-35 spine and the US-190 corridor east of the post. No city-level permit-count series confirms this directly, but it follows from the value and rent data: Temple, Belton, Troy, and Salado sit on I-35 with the metro's medical and logistics employment base, while Nolanville and Harker Heights sit on US-190 closer to Fort Hood's gates, feeding the military rental market. For a build-to-rent exit, size the unit to the tenant's paygrade: 2026 BAH at Fort Hood runs $1,374 to $1,695 a month across the junior-enlisted grades, and that band brackets Killeen's $1,254 and Harker Heights' $1,612 observed rents almost exactly, so a unit priced to rent above roughly E-6 BAH ($1,920) is fishing in a smaller pond.
How should I size the construction term against the Killeen resale market?
Plan for a flat market and a real marketing period, not a quick flip of the finished house. As of July 2026 the Killeen-Temple MSA carried a median list price of $289,000, down 3.4% year over year and 11.2% off the 2023 peak, with a median 72 days on market and roughly a third of active listings already carrying a price cut. Our construction terms run 12 to 24 months; on a Killeen spec build we would rather set the term long enough to sell into that pace than have you scrambling for an extension near the finish line.
On a $400,000 Killeen build, how much of the cost is mine?
Roughly 15% of total cost, and the value test can move that. We lend up to 85% of cost and up to 70% LTV, whichever binds first. On a $400,000 all-in Killeen build, land plus vertical, 85% of cost is up to $340,000 from us and $60,000 from you (400,000 x 85% = 340,000). Draws follow the build schedule rather than funding up front, so your cash sits in the equity piece and the permit costs, not in the sticks. Subject to underwriting.
Do you set a minimum credit score on a Killeen construction loan?
No. This is an asset-based program, so there is no minimum score. We run credit, but on a ground up file it carries far less weight than it would at a bank, and weaker credit is usually handled with lower leverage rather than a decline. There is no hard credit pull to start a conversation. What moves leverage most on a Killeen build is the track record: experienced builders can access higher leverage, and a first build gets sized more conservatively against the same lot. Subject to underwriting.
The metro's median list is $289,000. How large a Killeen spec build will you fund?
Up to $5,000,000, which is far above what a typical Killeen spec house needs. The metro's median list price was $289,000 in July 2026, so a single spec build here uses a small fraction of the program ceiling and the real constraint is usually the 70% LTV and 85% of cost test, not the maximum loan size. Terms run 12 to 24 months, and with a median 72 days on market in this metro we would rather set the term long enough to sell into that pace than have you asking for an extension near the finish line. 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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