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Program 03
Ground-Up Construction in Orange County
Ground up construction loans for new builds in Orange County.
Built for spec builders and developers taking a lot from dirt to finished home. We fund the land and the vertical build up to 70% LTV and 85% of cost, with draws that keep pace with your schedule. Orange County permits very little new housing relative to its size, and the multifamily side fell sharply in 2025, so new supply stays scarce against a resale market that rarely loosens. Business-purpose only, and every draw schedule is set in underwriting.
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 Orange County, answered.
How tight is new-home supply in Orange County, and is that actually a reason to build here?
Yes: the county permits almost nothing relative to its size, and the multifamily side just collapsed. Orange County authorized 4,992 residential units by building permit in 2025, about 1.59 permitted units per 1,000 residents, and 5-plus-unit permits fell from 3,839 in 2024 to 1,892 in 2025, a 51% drop, while single-family permitting held roughly flat. That scarcity is the structural reason the resale market stays tight even as the county's population declines, and it is a dated, sourced fact rather than a builder's pitch.
What should I budget for school impact fees on a new spec home here?
Plan on $5.38 per square foot of assessable residential space, as of the state's January 2026 fee increase. The State Allocation Board raised the statutory Level 1 developer fee 4.06% on 2026-01-28, from $5.17 to $5.38 per square foot (commercial and industrial space runs $0.87 per square foot). On a 2,600 square foot spec house that is roughly $13,988 in school fees alone, before any city building or impact fee. Districts implement the statutory rate locally, so confirm the figure with the district before you set the budget line.
My lot is on a hillside. Does the 2025 fire hazard remap change what I have to build?
If it lands in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, yes. CAL FIRE issued updated Local Responsibility Area fire hazard maps for Orange County on 2025-03-24, and unincorporated Orange County adopted its map by county ordinance on 2025-08-26. A Very High designation requires new construction to meet the ignition-resistant assembly standards of California Building Code Chapter 7A (or California Residential Code section R327), obligates the owner to maintain defensible space, and triggers a seller disclosure on any future sale. That is a real cost and design constraint on a canyon or hillside build, and it is worth checking the parcel's zone before the lot goes under contract, not after.
Impact fees run about the same in Huntington Beach and Anaheim. Does it matter which city I build in?
It matters for your carry, even when the total is nearly identical. Huntington Beach's development impact fees run about $19,508 per detached unit, collected at permit issuance. Anaheim's run about $19,519 per detached unit across police, fire, library and parks fees, but Anaheim runs a Fee Deferral Program that pushes payment to final inspection or certificate of occupancy instead. On a construction loan, that is interest saved on roughly $19,500 a unit for the length of the build in one city and not the other. Neither figure includes school fees or the toll road corridor fee below. Once the build is finished, a builder who decides to hold instead of sell moves into Orange County DSCR rental loan terms rather than listing it.
Nobody mentioned a toll road fee on my construction budget. Is that real?
It is, and it is easy to miss because it is not a city fee. The San Joaquin Hills and Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agencies levy a Major Thoroughfare and Bridge Fee on new development inside their fee areas, running from about $4,912 to $6,905 per single-family unit and $2,864 to $4,030 per multi-family unit for the fiscal year running 2026-07-01 through 2027-06-30, and it escalates automatically every July 1. Seventeen Orange County cities plus the county are member agencies, but membership in the agency is not the same as a parcel sitting inside a fee zone, so confirm the zone with the city before pricing the fee into your budget.
Is there a way to add a unit here without triggering the full impact fee stack?
A sub-750-square-foot ADU is exempt from local impact fees entirely. Anaheim's own fee sheet cites California Government Code section 66324: an accessory dwelling unit under 750 square feet is exempt from impact fees charged by local agencies, special districts and water corporations, and at 750 square feet or larger the fee is charged proportionally to the primary dwelling's square footage. Huntington Beach still schedules impact fees on larger ADUs at roughly $3,721 a unit where the exemption does not reach. In a county permitting about 1.59 units per 1,000 residents a year, a sub-750 ADU is the lowest-cost legal unit of new supply available.
How much equity do I need to bring to an Orange County ground-up build?
Roughly 15% of total project cost, and the 70% LTV test has to clear too. We fund up to 85% of cost and up to 70% of value, to a $5,000,000 ceiling, with draws released against your build schedule over a 12 to 24 month term. On a $2,400,000 Orange County project that is up to $2,040,000 from us and $360,000 from you (2,400,000 x 85% = 2,040,000), with whichever of the two tests binds first setting the actual number. Put the full fee stack in your cost basis before you run that math: school fees at the statutory Level 1 maximum of $5.38 per square foot of assessable residential space, city impact fees, and the transportation corridor fee where the parcel sits in a fee zone. Subject to underwriting.
Do you check credit on an Orange County construction loan?
We run it, but there is no minimum score on this program. A ground-up loan is underwritten on the lot, the budget, the schedule and the exit value, so credit carries far less weight than it would at a bank. Weaker credit is usually offset with lower leverage instead of a decline, and there is no hard credit pull to start. We also do not qualify you off W-2s or pay stubs on this program. Subject to underwriting.
Do I need a building track record to get an Orange County construction loan?
No, but it changes the leverage. Experienced builders can access higher leverage inside the same 85% of cost and 70% of value caps, on spec or build-to-rent projects. A first project prices with more of your own equity in it. Bring the fuller file on an Orange County hillside or canyon lot in particular: a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone designation pulls in Chapter 7A ignition-resistant assemblies and a defensible-space duty, and that is a cost and design constraint an underwriter wants to see you have already priced. 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 Orange County
Other programs in Orange County
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 2026-08-21.
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