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Program 03
Ground-Up Construction in Oakland
Oakland ground-up construction loans, with draws at your pace.
We fund ground-up construction in Oakland up to 70% of value and 85% of cost, on a 12 to 24 month term with draws that track your build schedule. Rates start from 10.00%, subject to underwriting. Oakland charges its construction impact fees by zone rather than by a flat citywide rate, so where you build changes your basis as much as the lot price does. This program is business-purpose only, for builders and developers, not owner-occupants.
70%
max LTV
85%
of cost
Most states
funding
$5M
max loan
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.
Who it's for
Spec home builders
Developers and operators
Lot purchase or teardown
Build-to-rent strategies
Typical terms
Loan amountUp to $5M
LeverageUp to 70% LTV / 85% LTC
Term12 to 24 months
DrawsPer build schedule
RateFrom 10.00%*
UseSpec or build-to-rent
*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.
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Local FAQ
Ground-Up Construction in Oakland, answered.
How much are Oakland's impact fees on a ground-up build?
It depends entirely on which fee zone your lot sits in, and the gap is large. On the city's rate sheet effective 2025-09-13, a 1,800 square foot single-family house owes roughly $29,412 in impact fees in Zone 1 versus roughly $10,584 in Zone 3, and a 1,000 square foot apartment unit owes roughly $39,110 in Zone 1 versus roughly $1,470 in Zone 3. Zone 3 is the area the city is trying to attract new construction into with lower fees. Pull the zone map before you underwrite the lot, not after. If the fee math doesn't pencil for ground-up in your zone, compare it against rehabbing an existing structure with our Oakland fix and flip program.
Sources: oaklandca.gov
Does Oakland require a sewer lateral certificate before I can build?
Yes, if your construction budget passes $100,000. Oakland sits inside the East Bay Regional Private Sewer Lateral Ordinance, administered by EBMUD, which requires a Compliance Certificate on any of three triggers: buying or selling the property, building or remodeling above $100,000, or changing water meter size. The certificate itself costs $407 (fees effective 2026-07-01); a lateral that needs repair or replacement costs more, and that cost was not published as a range, so we don't estimate it here. Budget for the inspection early in your build timeline, not at final.
Sources: eastbaypsl.com
Does a newly built Oakland property get any relief from the city's tenant ordinances?
Yes, but the relief runs out. A building that received its certificate of occupancy within the past 10 years is exempt from Oakland's Just Cause Ordinance (a rolling exemption, amended 2022), and units with a certificate of occupancy on or after January 1, 1983 are permanently exempt from the Rent Adjustment Ordinance. The $137-per-unit RAP fee comes off only while a unit is exempt from both ordinances, so a ground-up building stops paying it for as long as the 10-year just cause exemption lasts. That exemption is the one to watch: it is not permanent, and it ages out as the building does. Once the building is leased up, most builders carry the hold with an Oakland DSCR loan rather than refinancing into a conventional file. Talk to your attorney about how a specific building is classified.
Does Oakland flag ground-up lots for landslide or liquefaction risk?
The city publishes parcel-level hazard layers, and you should check yours before you close. Oakland's planning and zoning GIS system carries Landslide Hazard Zone and Liquefaction Zone layers (CGS data) alongside floodway and flood zone layers. We were not able to source acreage or parcel counts for these zones, so treat this as a lot-by-lot check rather than a citywide statistic: pull the layer for your parcel before you finalize the geotechnical scope.
Sources: gismaps.oaklandca.gov
Does Oakland require Planning approval before a ground-up Building Permit can issue?
Usually, yes, and it is a separate step ahead of the building permit, not a formality alongside it. The city's own permit overview lists multi-unit housing projects and window replacements among the "common Planning Permits" and states plainly that "most projects must receive Planning approval before a Building Permit can be issued." For a ground-up build, that means the Planning review is a real item on your critical path, not something that runs in parallel with the building permit. Build the Planning approval step into your draw schedule alongside the building permit itself, and confirm with your GC or permit expediter which reviews your specific project needs before you finalize your construction timeline.
Sources: oaklandca.gov
Is there a specific part of Oakland where a spec build pencils better right now?
Zone 3 carries the lowest impact fees in the city, and there is now a development catalyst inside it. The city's 112-acre Coliseum site sold to a private owner in July 2026, with a housing-and-retail plan running on a multi-year, 2034 payment horizon, and it sits in that low-fee zone. That's a long-run story, not an imminent one, but the fee zone itself is a present-day line in the pro forma. Zone 3 is the historically disinvested part of Oakland the city is trying to draw capital into, so pull the zone map for the parcel rather than going by neighborhood name.
Sources: oaklandnorth.net
How much equity do I need to put into an Oakland ground-up build?
At least 15% of cost, and the value test can push it higher. We fund up to 85% of cost and up to 70% of value, whichever comes in lower. On a $1,200,000 total Oakland project cost that is up to $1,020,000 from us and $180,000 from you (1,200,000 x 85% = 1,020,000). Impact fees belong inside that cost number, and in Oakland they swing hard by zone: roughly $29,412 on an 1,800 square foot house in Zone 1 against roughly $10,584 in Zone 3. Loans run up to $5M on a 12 to 24 month term with draws on the build schedule. Subject to underwriting.
Will a thin credit file stop an Oakland construction loan?
Usually not. Construction is an asset-based loan, so we run credit but it carries far less weight than it would at a bank, and there is no minimum score on this program. Weaker credit is normally offset with lower leverage, meaning a number below the 85% of cost ceiling, rather than a decline. There is no hard credit pull to start. The lot, the budget and the exit carry the file. Subject to underwriting.
Do I need a completed build history to borrow for Oakland construction?
No, but experience moves the leverage. Experienced builders can access higher leverage, up toward the program's 85% of cost and 70% of value ceilings, while a first ground-up file generally prices below that. Track record in Oakland specifically helps for a practical reason: the city's own guidance says most projects need Planning approval before a Building Permit can issue, so a builder who has run that sequence before carries a schedule we can underwrite. Subject to underwriting.
More Ground-Up Construction questions, answered on the program page
Resources
Guides for Ground-Up Construction
Fix and Flip · 6 min read
Fix and Flip Loan Requirements: What You Need to Get Funded
Read the guide Fix and Flip · 5 min read
What Is ARV (After-Repair Value) and How Do You Calculate It?
Read the guide Construction · 5 min read
How Ground-Up Construction Loans Work
Read the guide Getting Funded · 4 min read
LTV vs LTC: What's the Difference?
Read the guide More in Oakland
Other programs in Oakland
Fix and FlipUp to 90% / 100% rehabRental / DSCR30-yr fixed, DSCR from 0.75CRE BridgeUp to $10M, 24-36 moTransactional FundingSame-day double-close capitalBank Statement / No-DocNo tax returns requiredConventional InvestmentNon-owner-occupied investmentPortfolio LoansMultiple properties, one loanCRE PermanentLong-term agency & permSBA Financing7(a) & 504 placement
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 2026-08-22.
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