Question 1

What did BL2025-1006 change for a tall-skinny build in Nashville?

Accepted Answer

The envelope got shorter and the entitlement got easier. The ordinance passed third reading on December 16, 2025 and was approved by the mayor the next day, with the height table delayed to February 27, 2026. Maximum height across the single-family and two-family bulk table dropped from 3 stories to 2.5, and a new "half story" definition counts a half story as a full one if its top wall plates, on at least two opposite exterior walls, sit more than 4 feet above that story's floor. Note 6 caps height at 24 feet to the eave or parapet and 35 feet to the ridge, with a blockface exception: if more than half the existing structures on the same block face oriented to the same street exceed 35 feet, you get 3 stories in 45 feet. Note 4 is the tall-skinny rule proper, holding two detached units on a single lot to a ratio of 1.0 horizontal to 1.5 vertical for each structure, and dormers may not occupy more than half of any roof face. There is a real carve-out: inside the area bounded by I-65 on the north and west, I-40 on the west and south, and I-24 on the east, the maximum stays 3 stories in 45 feet and the Note 6 eave and ridge limits do not apply. Running the other way, the old five-part conditions test for two-family was deleted in full and replaced with a simple standard, so two-family is permitted on any lot legally created under state law or inside an approved final plat that meets the district minimum lot size. If you are holding plans drawn to a 3-story tall-skinny outside the loop, they no longer pencil the same way. Have your architect confirm the current envelope with Metro Codes before you go hard.

Question 2

How do two detached houses on one Nashville lot get sold separately?

Accepted Answer

Through a horizontal property regime created by a recorded master deed. The legal basis is the Tennessee Horizontal Property Act, T.C.A. Title 66, Chapter 27, Part 1. Under section 66-27-102 an "apartment" is any part of the property intended for independent use, and the definition expressly includes "a separate free-standing building." That is why two physically detached houses can be conveyed as separate units on one legal lot without a subdivision. It matters to your loan in three places: the appraiser has to comp units rather than a lot, the title work runs through the master deed, and the first unit to sell needs a partial release. Tell us the structure at term sheet, not at the first payoff, so the release mechanics sit in the loan documents. Two other notes. Metro also permits two-family as a zoning use, with fee-simple splits handled separately, so your real estate attorney should confirm which structure your specific deal uses. And under BL2025-1006, two-family structures legally built before the effective date may remove the connector between the units. Run the exit price against the fix and flip calculator on a per-unit basis, not on the combined build.

Question 3

What do Tennessee recording taxes cost me on a Nashville flip?

Accepted Answer

The buyer pays the transfer tax in Tennessee, at $0.37 per $100. The base is the greater of consideration or property value, and the grantee pays by statute, so on a $400,000 purchase that is $1,480 out of your side of the table, not the seller's. You will pay it going in and your buyer will pay it going out. The second one is the indebtedness tax on the recorded loan: 11.5 cents per $100 of debt, with the first $2,000 exempt, owed by the borrower and collected and remitted by the note holder. On a $400,000 note that is about $458. Every recorded debt instrument carries the legend "Maximum principal indebtedness for Tennessee Recording tax purposes is $___," and a revolving line is taxed once on the stated maximum, with re-draws untaxed and any increase beyond that maximum taxed on the increase with no $2,000 exclusion. Do not be tempted to shade the deed. Consideration is sworn on the face of the deed, false statements are punishable as perjury, and the Department of Revenue runs a discovery program comparing sworn deed values against assessor values. Recording fees themselves are small, $10 per document and $5 per page over two under T.C.A. 8-21-1001, but Davidson County's own posted schedule should be confirmed with your closing agent. Talk to your attorney or CPA about how these land on your specific closing statement.

Question 4

If the flip does not sell, can I rent it and wait?

Accepted Answer

You can, but underwrite that fallback on today's rents, because Nashville rents are falling. Three independent series agree on direction as of August 2026: Apartment List has the metro median at $1,373 and down 3.6% year over year, Zumper has the 1-bedroom median at $1,650 and down 5%, and CoStar data reported by Northmarq has average advertised asking rent down 1.2% to $1,642. Multifamily vacancy sat at 8.5% in the first quarter of 2026, a cyclical high. The constructive half of the story is real but slow: deliveries fall from 12,852 units in 2024 to 9,011 in 2025 to a forecast 6,020 in 2026, units under construction are down about 25%, and trailing-12-month absorption held near 8,700 units, so the rent decline is a supply artifact with a visible end. That end is a 2027 to 2028 story, not a 2026 one. If plan B is a rental, price it flat and check the coverage with the DSCR calculator before you buy. One more caution: do not fill the gap with short-term rental income. In Davidson County a new not-owner-occupied short-term rental permit is not available in AR2A, R, RS or RM zoning, and an existing permit does not transfer on sale.

Question 5

What do Metro permits cost, and how fast does plan review move?

Accepted Answer

Residential permits are priced off valuation, and Metro publishes no review clock. The total is a $25 zoning examination fee plus the building valuation fee, plus a Codes Tech Fee of 10% of that valuation fee, plus plan review where it applies. Residential work on 1-2 family homes and townhouses runs $5.00 per $1,000 of total valuation, and one- and two-family dwellings, townhouses, demolition and blasting are exempt from the plan review fee entirely. Valuation is set off the ICC Building Valuation Data table, February 2025 edition, which puts one- and two-family construction between $169.09 and $215.90 per square foot depending on type. Start electrical work before the permit issues and the fees triple. Re-inspections are $50. On timing, Metro Codes publishes no standard or service level for plan review, so do not build a schedule around a number a third party quoted you. What Metro does run is concurrent electronic review, with one plan set going at once to Water and Sewer, Stormwater, Health, the Fire Marshal, Planning, NDOT and Historic. Two things to plan around: only registered licensed contractors can hold an ePermits account, so an unlicensed owner-borrower has to appear in person at 800 President Ronald Reagan Way, which is a real schedule risk on an owner-managed job. And if you are building a single- or two-family home in a designated sidewalk area under Metro Code section 17.20.120, compliance is a condition of the building permit: you build the sidewalk or pay an in-lieu contribution capped at 3% of total construction value, and either way you dedicate right of way or a pedestrian easement. Underwrite to that 3% cap. Looking forward, Tennessee Public Chapter 1044 takes effect January 1, 2027 and binds every local government in the state to 30 business days for written staff comments and 60 business days to approve or advance an application, with automatic approval as submitted if either deadline is missed. It governs plan review, not the inspection cycle.

Question 6

How should I budget property tax carry in Davidson County?

Accepted Answer

Off assessed value, not off your purchase price. Tennessee assesses residential and farm property at 25% of appraised value and commercial and industrial at 40%. Davidson County's 2025 rates are $2.814 per $100 of assessed value in the Urban Services District and $2.782 in the General Services District. Work it through: a $500,000 house in the GSD is assessed at $125,000, and $125,000 divided by 100 times $2.782 is $3,477.50 a year, or about $290 a month while you hold. That is an effective rate near 0.70% of market value, which is the number to put in your carry, not the headline millage. The same $500,000 valued as commercial is assessed at $200,000 and bills $5,564, roughly 1.6 times the residential figure, so a change of use moves the tax bill even when value does not. Pull the address-level figures from the Davidson County Assessor rather than trusting the seller's current bill, and talk to your CPA about your own situation.

Question 7

How much of my fix and flip deal will USA Mortgage finance?

Accepted Answer

We fund up to 90% of the purchase price and up to 100% of your rehab budget, with the total capped against the after-repair value (ARV). Rehab money is released in draws as the work is completed.

Question 8

What interest rate and points should I expect on a flip loan?

Accepted Answer

Our fix and flip pricing starts around 9.99%, interest-only, with origination typically 1 to 3 points depending on your experience, leverage, and the deal, and every quote is subject to underwriting. Across the market most flip loans run roughly 9% to 12%. On most flip loans, including ours, interest is charged on the full loan amount, rehab budget included. Paying interest only on rehab funds as you draw them exists in the market, but it is the exception, not the rule.

Question 9

Do I need flipping experience to qualify?

Accepted Answer

No. We work with first-time flippers as well as full-time operators. Experience mainly affects your leverage and rate, since a longer track record earns higher loan-to-cost and better pricing. A newer investor can still get funded with a sound deal, a realistic budget, and a clear exit.

Question 10

How fast can a fix and flip loan close?

Accepted Answer

We can get you a term sheet the same day on a complete application, and we typically fund within 48 hours of clear title. The main variable is how fast title and insurance come together, which is why a full close usually runs 5 to 7 days. Because we are the lender and underwrite in house, there is no second layer of approval to wait on.

Question 11

Is there a prepayment penalty if I sell quickly?

Accepted Answer

No. Our fix and flip loans have no prepayment penalty, so paying off early when the property sells costs you nothing extra. Terms run 6 months, and because there is no penalty, selling sooner never costs you extra.

Question 12

Do you check credit or require income documents?

Accepted Answer

We run credit, but this is an asset-based loan, so the property, your budget, and the ARV matter most. We do not ask for W-2s or tax returns to qualify a flip. We will want to confirm you have reserves to carry the project to its exit.

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