Construction finance
Draw Request Packages That Get Funded in Days, Not Weeks
A draw request is a simple trade: you show the lender proof that work happened, the lender releases money. Investors who treat it that way get funded in days. Investors who send a number and some photos get to know their lender’s review queue very well.
The difference is the package. Here’s what’s in a fundable one.
The five pieces
1. The draw summary. One page: approved budget, drawn to date, this request, remaining after funding. It has to tie to the lender’s approved budget, line for line. Renaming lines or lumping trades together is how a 3-day draw becomes a 3-week draw.
2. Line-item detail. For every budget line in this request: budget amount, previously billed, this draw, percent complete. The lender’s inspector is going to walk the property with this sheet. When the sheet says drywall is 80% and the walls agree, files move.
3. Invoice backup. Every line in the request backed by a contractor invoice or receipt. Organized by budget line, not a shoebox PDF. This is the paper trail that separates a professional operation from a hopeful one.
4. Lien waivers. A conditional waiver from every contractor being paid out of the draw. No waiver, no check. That rule protects your title, and lenders know it. Showing up with waivers already collected tells the lender you run a clean site. We built a free draw and retainage tracker that keeps the waiver checklist per draw.
5. Photos and inspection readiness. Date-stamped progress photos matched to the lines requested. If the lender sends an inspector, the site should show exactly what the paperwork claims. Inspectors talk to underwriters.
The bookkeeping underneath
Here’s the part most flippers miss: a draw package is just a report from your books, if the books are set up right. Every vendor bill coded to a project and a budget line, retainage tracked as a liability, draw and inspection fees capitalized to the project’s cost of money instead of buried in bank fees, and escrow reconciled so you always know undrawn funds to the dollar.
With that setup, “build the draw package” means running a report and attaching invoices that are already filed. Without it, it means a night of spreadsheet archaeology per draw, times every draw, times every project.
Every week a draw sits in review, you’re paying interest on money you can’t touch. Run your carry cost through the hard money calculator and multiply by the weeks your last three draws took. That number is why draw packages are a bookkeeping product, not a paperwork chore.
We build them as part of Back Office: AP coded to budget lines daily, waivers tracked per vendor bill, packages out the door in days. A 30-minute diagnostic will tell you if your setup can do this, and what it takes to get there.
FAQ
What is a construction draw request?
On a rehab or construction loan, the lender doesn’t hand you the full amount at closing. Funds sit in escrow and release in draws as work completes. You request a draw, the lender inspects or reviews documentation, then funds. The request package is what you submit to trigger that release.
What documents does a draw package include?
A draw summary tied to the approved budget, line-item detail (budget, previously drawn, this request, remaining), invoices or receipts backing every line, conditional lien waivers from the contractors being paid, and progress photos. Some lenders send their own inspector. The documentation still decides how fast the file clears.
Why do my draws keep getting delayed?
The usual causes: a request that doesn’t tie to the approved budget lines, missing invoice backup, no lien waivers, or a request for work the inspection can’t verify. Lenders don’t rush to fund files that make them do the reconciliation themselves.
How should draw fees and inspection fees be booked?
They’re part of the project’s cost of money, not general bank fees. On a flip they capitalize to the project along with interest. Burying them in bank fees understates the project’s true cost and overstates your margin.
What is retainage and do lenders care?
Retainage is the percentage (typically 10%) held back from each contractor payment until the work is complete. Lenders like seeing it because it means you have leverage over your contractors and a paper trail. We built a free tracker for exactly this, on the resources page.