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Merced Hard Money and Investor Loans

UC Merced came inside city limits, and the new neighborhoods follow it.

USA Mortgage funds investors across Merced County. Your tax rate depends on the school district. Newer city subdivisions carry an added services tax. We lend business-purpose capital only, never to owner-occupants.

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You hear the decision from the people who underwrote your deal.

Second Mortgage

A second mortgage on your Merced rental.

Second mortgages on Merced County investment property, $50K to $1M, up to 80% CLTV. Business purpose only. Subject to underwriting.

$1M
max loan
80%
max CLTV
660
min FICO
3-4 weeks
to close

Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Investment property and business purpose only. Not a commitment to lend.

Property tax follows the school district

The county's 2026-27 rate book puts the ad valorem stack near 1.04 percent in the Livingston school district and near 1.16 percent in Delhi, so price the parcel, not the city.

A university now inside city limits

UC Merced and the 650-acre Virginia Smith Trust land south of it were annexed into the City of Merced in 2024, so growth-area projects go through the city's entitlement process.

A yield market, not an appreciation market

Metro gross single-family rent-to-value ran about 6.6 percent in September 2026 ($2,284 x 12 = $27,408, divided by a $414,423 mid-tier value), while values were roughly flat year over year.

Loan programs in Merced

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

Second Mortgage in MercedFix and Flip in MercedRental / DSCR in MercedGround-Up Construction in MercedCRE Bridge in MercedTransactional Funding in MercedBank Statement / No-Doc in MercedConventional Investment in MercedPortfolio Loans in MercedCRE Permanent in MercedSBA Financing in Merced

Merced lending questions

Do you lend across all of Merced County, or only in the City of Merced?
Across the whole county, which is the entire Merced metro. We fund deals in the City of Merced, Los Banos, Atwater, Livingston, Gustine, and Dos Palos, and in the unincorporated communities of Delhi and Winton. USA Mortgage is headquartered in Bee Cave, Texas, and funds deals in most states. Every loan is business-purpose only, on investment property, and terms are subject to underwriting. See how we lend across California or talk to us.
Is UC Merced inside the City of Merced?
Yes, since the 2024 annexations. Merced County LAFCo approved annexing the campus into the city on July 18, 2024: about 1,040 acres of campus plus a two-mile stretch of Bellevue Road, 1,140 acres in all. The 650-acre Virginia Smith Trust land just south of the campus followed, and the city announced that annexation recorded and complete on October 17, 2024. The city says its focus now shifts to processing the necessary entitlement applications, so student-rental and new-build plans near the campus run through city rules, not county rules. We have not sourced campus enrollment from a primary source, so we publish no number. Talk to your attorney or the city planning department about any specific parcel.

Sources: cityofmerced.gov

Is there rent control in Merced?
No city rent stabilization chapter exists, but the City of Merced does have two tenant-side rules an investor should know. The city code, codified through Ordinance 2589 on March 2, 2026, has no rent stabilization chapter, and its 2011 just-cause chapter was repealed in 2012, so the statewide AB 1482 rules are the rent rules for covered units. Chapter 9.75 (2023) still binds every city rental unit damaged in the January 2023 flood: just cause regardless of tenancy length, a first right to return at the same rent, and no rent increase for six months after the tenant returns. Chapter 8.53 designates owners with three housing code violations in 12 months as repeat violators, and lists them on the city's website. Talk to your attorney before underwriting a covered unit.

Sources: library.municode.com, cityofmerced.gov

What does a Merced County property tax bill actually run?
Plan on about 1.04 to 1.16 percent of the purchase price, and check the school district first. The county's 2026-27 rate book, which the Auditor marks as not audited or verified, shows ad valorem stacks of 1.1105 percent in Merced City School District territory, 1.0417 percent in Livingston, and 1.1630 percent in Delhi, the heaviest common stack we found. On a $400,000 purchase in Merced City School District territory that is about $4,442 a year ($400,000 x 1.1105%). Newer City of Merced subdivisions also annex into a services special tax, Community Facilities District 2003-2, which is not in the rate book; we found no per-parcel amount, so ask for the parcel's actual bill. A purchase also triggers a supplemental assessment that goes to the owner, not the mortgage servicer. Talk to your CPA.

Sources: countyofmerced.com, cityofmerced.gov

How much does flood history matter for a Merced rental?
More than wildfire does. On January 10, 2023, Bear Creek above McKee Road reached a flood of record at 26.18 feet, past the 24.65 feet set in 2006, and the town of Planada was ordered to evacuate after a levee breach. A major disaster was declared for Merced County on January 14, 2023. Flood coverage is a separate policy that a lender may require near Bear Creek and the other creeks. Wildfire is minor on the valley floor: the State Fire Marshal's map has the City of Merced designate only a Moderate zone, in the northeast of city limits. We found no county premium averages or flood-zone parcel share, so we publish no premium. Get the insurance quote into the file early.

Sources: weather.gov, cityofmerced.gov

Serving Merced and nearby
MercedLos BanosAtwaterLivingstonDelhiWintonGustineDos Palos
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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 2026-10-16.

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