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Program 02

Fix and Flip in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara fix and flip loans for every submarket's basis.

Built for the active flipper. We fund up to 90% of the purchase price and up to 100% of the rehab budget, capped to ARV, on a 6-month interest-only term. Santa Barbara County is really two markets under one tax roll: a high-basis South Coast and a lower-basis, faster-margin North County, so your flip strategy should match which half you're buying in. Business-purpose only, and every structure is set in underwriting.

Fix and Flip in Santa Barbara, CA from USA Mortgage
90%
of purchase
100%
of rehab
Same day
term sheet
$5M
max loan

Typical figures, subject to underwriting and market conditions. Not a commitment to lend.

How it works

Draws are reimbursed quickly as work is completed, and a dedicated closer stays with your file from term sheet to payoff. You can get a term sheet the same day, and we typically fund within 48 hours of clear title, so most flips close in 5-7 days as soon as title and insurance come together.

Who it's for
Active fix and flip investors
First-time flippers welcome
Single-family and 1-4 units
Value-add and distressed buys
Auction and on-market deals
Typical terms
Loan amount$100K to $5M
Purchase leverageUp to 90% LTP
Rehab fundingUp to 100%
Term6 months
RateFrom 9.99%*
PaymentsInterest-only
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*Typical terms, subject to underwriting and market conditions.

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Local FAQ

Fix and Flip in Santa Barbara, answered.

How long does a permit take on a Santa Barbara County flip?
No countywide or city permit timeline has been published, so budget conservatively rather than off a number nobody can verify. Santa Barbara's reputation for slow entitlements is widely repeated but unverified as of this writing; treat any specific day count you hear as unsourced. What is documented and does carry math is the City of Santa Barbara's Growth Management Program: most lots may add or convert only 1,000 square feet of nonresidential floor area before triggering a Development Plan and design review, and any project above 3,000 square feet needs Planning Commission approval. If your scope stays purely residential that ceiling does not apply, but a flip with a commercial or mixed-use angle should model it going in. Confirm the actual plan-check schedule with the jurisdiction before you set your rehab draw calendar.
What will property taxes actually run on a Santa Barbara County flip?
It resets to your purchase price the day you close, so the seller's old bill tells you nothing. California's Prop 13 base rate plus this county's voter-approved school and college bonds puts the total ad valorem rate anywhere from about 1.03% in Montecito to 1.18% in the City of Guadalupe. On a $668,983 Santa Maria purchase that runs roughly $7,443 a year at the 1.11278% rate; on a $1,848,325 City of Santa Barbara purchase it runs roughly $19,482 a year at the 1.05404% rate. There is no separate investor rate class on the ad valorem side, so carry that full number in your holding-cost line for the life of the flip. Talk to your CPA about the tax rate area for your specific parcel.
What insurance issue actually gates a flip on the Santa Barbara County coast?
Debris flow, not just wildfire, on any South Coast foothill parcel below a burn scar. The Thomas Fire burned nearly 282,000 acres in late 2017, and rain on the fresh burn scar above Montecito in January 2018 produced debris flows that killed 21 people and destroyed 129 homes. A standard homeowner policy or the FAIR Plan's named-peril dwelling fire form is not the same coverage as debris-flow protection, and the moratoriums that followed the Thomas Fire expired years ago. Get the actual insurance quote into your file before you commit to the appraisal, not after.
How much does closing cost me on the way out of a Santa Barbara County flip?
Less than you would budget if you learned real estate in Los Angeles. Santa Barbara County's documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of sale price countywide, with no city add-on anywhere, including the charter cities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and Solvang. On a $1,848,325 City of Santa Barbara sale that is about $2,033, roughly 0.11% of price. If you priced your exit off a bigger California market's transfer tax, this county's exit friction runs an order of magnitude lower than you planned for.
What do I have to disclose to my buyer after rehabbing a Santa Barbara County flip?
Contractor-performed work, by name, if you resell within 18 months of taking title. California Civil Code section 1102.6h requires a seller of a 1-4 unit property who accepts an offer inside 18 months of acquisition to disclose room additions, structural changes and other contractor-performed alterations or repairs, with the contractor's name and contact information, and permits may be attached. Keep contractor records and permit paperwork organized from the first day of the rehab so this disclosure is a formality rather than a scramble at closing. Our fix and flip loan funds draws against completed work, which gives you a running paper trail for exactly this requirement.
Does a Santa Barbara County flip pencil the same way on the coast and inland?
No, and treating the county as one market is the fastest way to misprice a deal. The South Coast is a supply-constrained, high-basis market: a City of Santa Barbara purchase runs $1,848,325 at the median, and the spread on that stock has to come from entitlement or scope, not from price per door. North County runs about a third of that basis, with a $668,983 median in Santa Maria and $597,835 in Lompoc, where a conventional buy-scope-and-sell flip still pencils on price alone. Decide which market you are underwriting before you set your rehab budget, not after.

More Fix and Flip questions, answered on the program page

Resources

Guides for Fix and Flip

Fix and Flip · 6 min read
Fix and Flip Loan Requirements: What You Need to Get Funded
Read the guide
Strategy · 6 min read
Financing the BRRRR Method: Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
Read the guide
Fix and Flip · 5 min read
What Is ARV (After-Repair Value) and How Do You Calculate It?
Read the guide
Rates & Costs · 5 min read
Hard Money Loan Rates and Costs, Explained
Read the guide
Browse all guides
Compare

Fix and Flip vs. other options

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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 2026-09-04.

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