Ground up construction
From dirt
to certificate of occupancy
Vertical from a funded lot through certificate of occupancy, with money released against work actually finished. We fund the dirt ourselves and place the build.
Start ApplicationThe sequence
Buy the lot first, build second
A construction lender that also funds the lot needs the plan set, the budget, the builder and the permit before it funds anything. That package takes weeks that the lot does not always have, and it is why so many good parcels are lost to a cash buyer while a file is being assembled.
We fund the dirt from our own book so the parcel is secured while the rest comes together, then place the construction loan with institutional capital when the plan, the budget and the builder are settled. Two loans, one file, one set of people who have read it.
How draws work
A scheduled draw and a funded draw are not the same thing
Inspected, then released
Money is released against the percentage of work actually in place, confirmed by an inspection, not against the date on a schedule someone hoped to hit.
The budget is the contract
A line item budget with a builder attached is what the draw schedule is measured against. Changes happen; they get documented rather than absorbed.
Servicing stays here
Draw requests, inspections and releases run through the same portal as the rest of the file, and the people who answer are the people who underwrote it.
Whose money it is
Placed with institutional capital, and we say so. Our own capital is in the land, the double closes and the home swaps.
Questions we get
Construction financing, answered
- Can you buy land with a construction loan?
- Sometimes, and it is usually the slower path. A construction lender that will also fund the lot wants the plan set, the budget, the builder and the permit before it funds anything, which means the lot sits unbought while that comes together. Buying the dirt first with a land loan and financing vertical separately is how most of these deals actually close.
- How is a land loan different from a construction loan?
- A land loan buys the parcel and is underwritten on the lot and the exit. A construction loan funds the building and is underwritten on the budget, the builder and the finished value, and it releases money in draws against work completed rather than all at once.
- How are construction draws actually released?
- Against percentage of work actually complete, verified by inspection, not against a calendar. A scheduled draw and a funded draw are different things, and the difference is an inspector confirming the work is in place.
- Do you fund construction with your own capital?
- No. Ground up construction is placed with institutional capital, because the size and duration of a vertical build is not what our own book is for. Land, transactional funding and manufactured home swaps are funded directly by Entrusted Capital. We say which is which because a borrower deserves to know whose money is deciding.
- Can one lender do the lot and then the build?
- That is the sequence we are built for. We fund the dirt from our own capital, and when the plan and the builder are settled, the construction file is placed with capital that wants that risk, underwritten by people who have already read the land file.
Related
Where most of these start
From the blog
- Lot loan vs land loan vs construction loan: which one do you need?Plain definitions of raw land, improved land and a lot, what each loan funds and is underwritten on, the published market terms, what ends each one, and which fits a hold, a build or a resale.
12 min
- What is a ground up construction loan, and how does it work for investors?What an investor’s ground up loan pays for, what lenders ask for, the leverage and pricing published in 2026, and why it is not the construction loan a homeowner gets.
12 min
- How do spec home loans work, and what do lenders need to see?What a lender checks before funding a house nobody has agreed to buy, what spec and build to rent construction loans cost, and one spec budget worked through to the sale.
12 min
- Florida impact fees by county: what a new house pays in all 67 counties, and whenWhat a new single-family house pays in impact fees in every Florida county, from the counties that charge nothing to those above $30,000, what the Impact Fee Act requires, and when replacing an old home owes nothing.
12 min
- Owner financing versus a land loanSeller carry looks cheaper and is sometimes the wrong instrument. The deciding question is not the rate, it is what happens at the end of the term.
13 min
- Perc test, septic and well: what a land buyer needs before closingA failed perc test can take a parcel from buildable to unbuildable in an afternoon. Here is what each test costs, when it has to happen, and which of them a lender will actually ask for.
14 min
- How much do you need down on a land loan?Most land deals need 25 to 50 percent down. What moves you inside that range is not your credit score, and the number is set by three ceilings rather than one.
13 min
- Can you finance raw land with no permits and no plans?The short answer is yes. The longer answer is about what replaces a permit set inside an underwriter file.
12 min
- Can you buy land with a construction loan, or do you need two loans?Both work. One of them loses you the lot while the paperwork comes together.
11 min
- Loan to cost, loan to as-is, loan to after-completed: which one sets your numberThree limits, one loan amount, and why the smallest of them is the only one that matters to you.
12 min
- Construction loan draw schedules: how draws are actually releasedA sample draw schedule for a new house, then how inspection, percentage complete and paperwork decide when each draw funds.
12 min
Start with the lot
and keep the same file
Tell us the parcel and what you intend to put on it. The land decision is ours to make, and the construction file goes out already underwritten.