Financing
Paying for a house that isn't built yet.
If every home you have bought already existed, construction financing works differently from what you know. Here is the shape of it in plain English — and an introduction to a lender who does this for a living.
The basics
Three things that make a construction loan different.
This is the general shape of construction financing, not a description of any particular product. Your lender will tell you how theirs works.
01
A construction loan, not a mortgage
A normal mortgage buys a house that already exists. A construction loan funds one that does not yet - so it is written against the plans, the budget and the land rather than against a finished property with an appraisal history. That is why the paperwork feels different from the last time you bought a home.
02
Money released in draws
Rather than one lump sum at closing, the funds come out in stages as the build progresses. Work gets done, it gets inspected, the lender releases that portion. It keeps the money tied to real progress on your house, and it is the part that surprises people most coming from a conventional mortgage.
03
It converts when the house is finished
At the end of construction the loan becomes permanent financing on a completed home. Lenders package this in different ways, and how yours is structured - including whether the construction and permanent pieces are arranged together up front - is a question for the lender, not for us.
An introduction, not a recommendation
Aaron will introduce you to Mike Lindeman.
Construction financing on our builds is generally arranged through Mike Lindeman at Lower.com in San Antonio. He handles construction lending regularly, which is not true of every mortgage contact, and that familiarity tends to make the first conversation a much shorter one.
What we do is make the introduction. What happens after that is between you and the lender: they will ask for your details, they will tell you what is available to you, and they own every term of it. We have no role in the decision and no stake in the outcome.
If you would prefer your own bank, use your own bank. We will send them the plans, the specifications and the budget documentation they ask for, exactly as we would for anyone else.
Ask us for the introduction
Call or email Aaron and say you would like to talk to a construction lender. He will connect you.
Sequence
Land first, then a budget, then financing.
A lender needs a number to work with, and the number depends on the ground. Until someone has assessed your lot — what the slope, the access and the services add to the build — a budget is a guess, and a financing conversation built on a guess has to be had twice.
So the order we recommend is simple. Get the lot assessed. Settle on a plan and a specification. Then take a real budget to a lender, who can respond to something concrete instead of a range.
In plain terms
What we can tell you, and what we can't.
We are a builder, not a lender
Vaughn Custom Homes builds houses. We do not lend money, we do not broker loans, and we are not paid by a lender for sending you their way. Every term, condition, cost and decision on your financing comes from the lender you choose.
You choose who finances your build
The introduction below exists because construction lending is a specialism and not every bank does it. If you would rather use your own bank or credit union, that is completely fine - we will work with whoever you pick, and we will supply them whatever documentation they need from us.
Nothing here is an approval
No page on a builder's website can tell you what you qualify for. Only a lender, looking at your actual circumstances, can answer that. Treat everything above as orientation for the conversation, not as its outcome.
Vaughn Custom Homes is a home builder and is not a mortgage lender, mortgage broker or financial adviser. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit, an approval, or advice about your circumstances. All loan terms, conditions and decisions come from the lender you choose.
Financing questions?
Ask Aaron. He'll point you at someone who can answer properly.
The introduction is free, the conversation is unhurried, and nobody at this end is trying to sell you a loan.