Texas Fix and Flip Loans

Fix and Flip Lending Across Texas Metros

Texas gives investors five very different flip markets under one state, and Curlee Capital lends in all of them. Houston offers the widest range of price points and neighborhoods, from close-in bungalow districts to master-planned suburbs, but its lack of zoning means investors need to research deed restrictions and flood zones carefully before underwriting a scope of work. Dallas-Fort Worth spans two distinct metro cores plus fast-growing suburbs like Frisco, McKinney, and Arlington, where new construction supply competes directly with renovated resale product.

San Antonio remains one of the more affordable major Texas metros, which keeps entry price points lower and rehab budgets tighter, while still supporting solid resale demand near the medical center and military bases. Austin's price appreciation over the past several years has pushed many investors toward outlying submarkets and comparable value plays. El Paso is a smaller, more insulated market with its own price dynamics tied heavily to local wages and cross-border economic activity, and flips there tend to run at lower price points with correspondingly smaller rehab budgets.

Because Curlee Capital underwrites every deal in-house rather than by formula, we adjust our comp analysis and exit assumptions to each metro rather than applying a single statewide model.

No State Income Tax, But Real Holding Costs

Texas has no state income tax, which is a genuine advantage for flippers keeping more of their profit on each deal compared to high-tax states. But that benefit is offset by some of the highest property tax rates in the country, often in the 1.8% to 2.5% range of assessed value depending on county and school district, plus mandatory homeowners insurance that has risen sharply in many Texas markets due to hail, wind, and, along the coast, hurricane exposure.

Those carrying costs matter directly to flip math: a property held for eight months while under renovation and on the market can accrue thousands of dollars in property tax and insurance alone, on top of interest expense. We underwrite realistic holding-period assumptions into every deal so investors aren't surprised by the total carry cost of a longer-than-planned project, and our interest-only structure with no prepayment penalty means paying off the loan early — the moment a sale closes — saves real money.

Foundation Issues and Texas-Specific Scope of Work

Expansive clay soils across much of Texas, particularly in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, parts of Austin, and San Antonio, make foundation movement one of the most common and most expensive surprises on a flip. A pier-and-beam or slab foundation with visible cracking, uneven floors, or sticking doors can require a foundation repair scope running from a few thousand dollars for minor pier work to well over $20,000 for a full perimeter underpinning.

We encourage every borrower to get a foundation inspection as part of due diligence before closing on a Texas flip, because an undiagnosed foundation issue can turn a profitable renovation into a loss. Our underwriting team has seen this pattern often enough that we factor foundation risk into how we evaluate older housing stock in older Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio neighborhoods.

ARV Discipline Across a Big, Uneven State

Texas is large enough that statewide averages are close to meaningless for underwriting an individual flip. A comp three miles away in a different school district or on the other side of a highway can carry a materially different value, and our underwriters pull tight, recent, and truly comparable sales for every deal rather than relying on broad zip-code data. We cap loans at 75% of ARV for 5+ deals completed in the last 24 months; 70% otherwise specifically because it keeps investors with real equity cushion in a state where local market conditions can shift by neighborhood and by season.

That discipline protects both the borrower and the loan: it keeps investors from over-leveraging into a renovation that won't support the value they expect, and it's why Curlee Capital can move quickly on qualified deals with confidence in the numbers.