Yes, if your general contractor has 3 completed projects within the last 36 months, proven by certificates of occupancy. You still need a 680 FICO, and the loan is sized the same as an experienced builder's: 85% LTC standard, up to 100% of the construction budget.
| What counts | Requirement | Proof |
|---|---|---|
| Your own experience | None required on this route | — |
| Your general contractor's experience | 3 completed projects within the last 36 months | A certificate of occupancy for each of the 3 projects |
| Your GC's documents | A GC license where the municipality requires one, a signed contract between you and the GC for this project, and a collateral assignment of the construction contract | The collateral assignment is signed at closing |
| Credit score | Minimum FICO 680 | — |
| Leverage | 85% LTC standard, up to 100% of the construction budget, and no more than 75% of the finished value (LTARV) | Budget review and appraisal |
| Borrowing entity | An LLC or corporation, not your personal name | — |
| Guaranty | Full recourse from every owner holding 20% or more is standard | — |
| Tax returns | Not required | — |
Updated . Business-purpose loans only.
The rest of the program is the same for every borrower: rates from 9% as of October 2026, points of 1% to 2% of the loan amount, 9 to 18 months, and interest charged only on drawn funds. The full terms are on the ground-up construction loans page.
On a ground-up loan there is no house on day one. We are lending against a budget, a set of plans and the person who turns them into a finished home. That person is your general contractor.
So when you have not built before, we look at whether your GC has, recently and more than once. Three certificates of occupancy in the last 36 months says the GC gets homes finished and signed off. Everything else is still yours to bring: the credit, the entity and the equity.
Two of the seven ground-up loans Domus funded from April to August 2026 went to first-time developers who qualified through their general contractor's track record. Both were spec single-family homes at 85% LTC on an 18-month term, and in both the borrower already owned the land and refinanced it into the construction loan.
| Location | Loan amount | Funded | Borrower |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeBary, FL | $264,000 | August 2026 | First-time developer, qualified through their general contractor's track record |
| Dallas, GA | $610,300 | June 2026 | First-time developer, qualified through their general contractor's track record |
More on the funded deals page.
You own a lot valued at $100,000. Your GC has 3 certificates of occupancy from the last 36 months. The construction budget, including soft costs and the interest reserve, is $300,000, and the finished house appraises at $520,000.
Points, the processing fee and closing costs are not financed: you pay them in cash. How the lot is valued, and how much of it can be advanced at closing, is on the land purchase and land equity page.
This is an example calculation with round numbers, not a real deal.
The GC's track record does not reach 3 projects in 36 months. Two completed homes, or three where one finished four years ago, do not meet the rule. Count the certificates of occupancy before you count on the route.
The projects cannot be proven. The proof is a certificate of occupancy for each project. A list of addresses or photos of finished homes is not the same thing.
Credit is under 680. The GC covers the experience. Credit is still yours, and the minimum is 680.
The finished value does not support the cost. The loan stops at 85% of project cost or 75% of the finished value, whichever is lower. If the house will not be worth enough, the leverage is not there, whoever is building it.
The project is outside the program. Rural property, more than four units, owner-occupied homes, and markets outside Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee do not qualify. Neither do Port Charlotte, Cape Coral or Lehigh Acres.
If one of these is the problem on your deal, you hear it on the first call, not the third week.
Yes, if your general contractor has 3 completed projects within the last 36 months, proven by certificates of occupancy. You still need a 680 FICO, and the loan closes in an LLC or corporation.
Yes. That is the contractor route: a GC with 3 completed projects within the last 36 months, each proven by a certificate of occupancy. With it, a borrower with zero completed projects qualifies.
On your own record, 3 completed projects, including 1 verified exit on a comparable build within the last 36 months. On the contractor route, none of your own: your GC needs 3 completed projects within the last 36 months.
The same standard: 85% LTC, up to 100% of the construction budget, capped at 75% of the finished value. Up to 90% LTC is considered case by case for highly experienced borrowers only.
Yes, alongside a ground-up project. A borrower with 1 completed ground-up project and 3 flips qualifies as an experienced builder, on their own record. Flips alone do not qualify; with no ground-up project, the contractor route is the way in.
You can bring in another general contractor and keep building.
No. Tax returns are not required.
Every other requirement, from documents to permits, is on the ground-up construction loan requirements page.
By Maximiliano Extrakt, Co-Founder, Domus Lending Group. Updated .
Business-purpose loans only.
Once we have all the information we need, we can price your deal the same day. Or call and talk it through with the person who makes the decision.