Ground-Up Construction in Midland

The city's own published target is 5 to 7 business days for residential plan review. That's faster than the big-metro Texas norm, and it's a real carry-math advantage on a spec build. Permit fees are paid 25% at submission and 75% after approval, and permits go only to owners or licensed, bonded contractors. Construction has to start within 180 days of permit issuance and can't halt for more than 180 days, or the permit expires, so the draw schedule we build with you is timed to that clock. Applications run through the PermitMidland portal at permitrequests@midlandtexas.gov, or call the building department at 432-685-7390 with questions.

Odessa runs permits through the MGO Connect online portal, but the city hasn't posted a review-time target or fee schedule the way Midland has. The Development Department's Building Inspection Division issues permits and handles inspections; you can reach them at 432-335-3211 or at City Hall, 411 W. 8th Street. Because Odessa's own timeline isn't published, we don't guess at it. We size your construction term and draw schedule to what your contractor and the city confirm on your specific project, not to a posted number that doesn't exist yet.

Yes, both cities charge them, and they're priced on different bases. City of Midland collects impact fees at building permit issuance under Ordinance 9960: water and wastewater are set by meter size citywide, so a 1-inch meter, the size on most single-family lots, runs $1,656.12 for water and $838.41 for wastewater, and the roadway impact fee on a single-family detached home runs a published maximum of $2,093.85 to $3,047.22 per dwelling unit depending on service area (Areas A through D; Service Area E carries no roadway fee). Midland publishes that roadway figure as a maximum only, with no collection-rate percentage against it, so treat it as a ceiling, not what you'll actually pay. City of Odessa adopted its fees under Ordinance 2021-27, effective September 9, 2021, and its worksheet publishes both a maximum and what it actually collects: residential development pays half the maximum on water and wastewater, so a 1-inch meter collects $648.35 for water and $1,385.02 for wastewater. Pull your specific meter size and service area from the building department before you lock a cost basis, and bring us the contractor's breakdown once you have it so we can size draws around the real number.

Yes, and the tradeoff is real: no city permit office, no city property tax line, and thinner services, in exchange for lower cost to hold and build. West Odessa is a large unincorporated community, roughly 33,340 people, that runs on Ector County rules rather than a city code. For a builder, that means one less layer of city review to clear, but also fewer city services once the house is standing. If your exit is a sale rather than a hold, price that tradeoff into your buyer pool the same way you'd price it into your build.

Greenwood, a fast-growing unincorporated suburb in southeast Midland County with its own ISD, marks the growth corridor on the Midland side. It sits inside the Midland MSA and inside Midland County's tax jurisdiction, which carries an unusually low 0.121374 county rate, though the Greenwood ISD school-tax line (1.049000 in 2025) runs higher than Midland ISD's 0.841500. The metro's underlying demand driver is the Permian Basin itself: this market has a history of the labor force outrunning available housing when drilling activity picks up, which is the structural case for building here rather than just buying existing stock. That said, exit timing still tracks the rig count, so size your build term to a realistic sell window, not just the construction schedule.

No. There is no minimum score on ground-up construction. We run credit, but on an asset-based construction loan it carries far less weight than at a bank, because the file is underwritten on the land, the budget, and the finished value. Weaker credit is usually offset with lower leverage rather than a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to start. You also will not be asked for W-2s or pay stubs; construction qualifies off the property and the equity. Subject to underwriting.

Plan on roughly 15% of cost, plus what the city takes before you break ground. We fund up to 85% of cost and up to 70% of value, so on a $500,000 all-in Midland build that is up to $425,000 from us and $75,000 from you (500,000 x 85% = 425,000), with the balance released in draws against the build schedule. Two Midland line items land early: permit fees are 25% at submission, and impact fees are collected at permit issuance, which on the 1-inch meter typical of a single-family lot is $1,656.12 for water and $838.41 for wastewater. The program runs up to $5M on a 12 to 24 month term. Subject to underwriting.

No, but experience moves the leverage. Experienced builders can access higher leverage inside the same caps of 70% LTV and 85% of cost. A lighter track record does not stop the conversation; it usually just means less leverage and a closer read of the budget and the contractor. Midland's published 5 to 7 business day residential plan review helps either way, since a shorter run-up to breaking ground is less carry on the 12 to 24 month term. Subject to underwriting.