Put the project on one page
Gather a short summary before assembling a larger file:
- Property: address, property type, current condition and whether you own it, have it under contract or are evaluating a purchase.
- Purchase: price, contract status, closing deadline and any existing debt if you already own the property.
- Work: itemized renovation scope, contractor estimates, proposed team and permits needed or already obtained.
- Timing: expected start, renovation completion, listing and sale dates; identify dependencies such as permits or long-lead materials.
- Budget: acquisition, renovation, contingency, financing and holding costs, and purchase/sale closing costs.
- Sale: expected resale price, comparable sales supporting it and the assumptions behind your selling timeline.
Describe the amount and purpose of financing you want to discuss. Keep that request separate from the total project budget: they answer different questions. This is a preparation checklist; the documents needed for a particular financing arrangement must be confirmed.
Include who intends to borrow and who will manage the project. Describe available cash, its source, existing project obligations and when funds could be needed. Keep personal financial documents out of an initial email; ask how any later documents should be shared securely.
Give every number a source and a status
Mark each figure documented, quoted or estimated, with its date. An executed purchase contract, a contractor quote and your resale forecast carry different kinds of certainty. Keep unresolved work visible rather than placing a confident number beside an unknown condition.
An expected sale price is a projection. Explain which comparable properties support it and how their condition, size and sale dates differ from yours. Update the budget when inspections, bids or plans change. Track the original estimate alongside the revision so the reason for a higher cost remains clear.
Explain your experience, including a first project
If this is your first flip, say so. Describe relevant renovation or property experience, who will manage the work and the contractor's role. For completed projects, summarize your responsibilities, scope, timing and outcome accurately.
Ask whether the financing being discussed considers first-time investors, what experience counts and what information is needed about your team. Experience criteria differ by provider and program; Lima One’s experience FAQs illustrate one provider’s approach. A contractor's experience should not be presented as your own, and a complete checklist does not establish eligibility.
Count the costs around the renovation
Allow for taxes, insurance, utilities and maintenance while you own the property. Kiavi’s project-cost guide discusses carrying costs during ownership. Review purchase closing costs and the costs of selling, including any commissions, concessions or closing expenses you expect to bear.
For proposed financing, ask which interest charges, origination charges, valuation costs, legal costs, inspections, draw fees and extension charges apply. Replace placeholders with written figures when available. Avoid counting the same charge in two categories.
Keep a contingency allowance for unexpected work, and distinguish it from cash reserved for ongoing expenses. An unused allowance is not an expense already incurred.
A budget example, before financing is decided
Imagine an investor planning a renovation and resale. Every amount below is hypothetical; none is a loan quote, financing limit or expected result.
| Project budget item | Planning amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase / acquisition | $300,000 |
| Renovation | $60,000 |
| Contingency allowance | $6,000 |
| Financing and holding cost allowance | $18,000 |
| Selling and closing costs | $31,000 |
| Total budget | $415,000 |
| Expected sale price | $480,000 |
| Sale price less budget, before taxes | $65,000 |
The $31,000 combines $9,000 of purchase closing costs and $22,000 of selling/closing costs. The $18,000 is a placeholder allowance; no interest rate, loan amount or term has been assumed.
The arithmetic is $300,000 + $60,000 + $6,000 + $18,000 + $31,000 = $415,000. Then $480,000 − $415,000 = $65,000.
If costs increase by $12,000 beyond the allowances already included, the budget becomes $427,000 and the difference falls to $53,000. If the sale also closes at $460,000, the difference becomes $33,000. These figures are not guaranteed profit or cash available at closing. Taxes, omitted costs and actual spending can change the result. The example does not calculate borrower cash or loan qualification.
Use the Fix & Flip project budget to organize your own assumptions.
Ask when the money becomes available
For renovation financing released through draws, understand the release conditions before scheduling payments. Some arrangements reimburse eligible completed work after verification; Anchor’s draw FAQs illustrate that approach. Confirm the actual arrangement being proposed:
- What must be completed, paid or documented before a draw?
- Are inspections required, and what fees apply?
- How are deposits and materials purchased before installation handled?
- What cash must you provide between paying a contractor and receiving funds?
- How are scope changes, overruns and the final release handled?
Ask whether interest applies to committed or drawn funds, when payments begin and whether reserves, guarantees or prepayment charges are part of the proposed arrangement. A budget can balance while the payment schedule still creates a cash gap.
Plan the cash between rehab draws
A financed renovation budget does not necessarily put money in your account before the contractor needs it. Put the contractor’s payment dates beside the lender’s release conditions. The gap between those schedules tells you what cash may be needed to keep work moving.
Separate the commitment from spendable cash
Keep the total loan commitment, funds already disbursed, the remaining rehab allocation and available project cash separate. Acquisition funds may pay a seller or existing debt directly. Money held for future draws is not cash in your account. Ask who receives each advance and what deductions or holdbacks apply.
Resolve deposits before work starts
Match deposits, materials orders and milestone payments to the written draw conditions. For example, Acadia states that its construction draws cover completed work and cannot fund upfront contractor or materials deposits; its borrower must cover those deposits. That is Acadia’s published policy, not a rule for every loan. Confirm the arrangement being proposed and identify how any earlier bill will be paid.
Completion, a request, verification and funds reaching your account are separate events. Lima One describes completed-work requests, verification and release. Rehab Wallet’s instructions require a draw tracker and image evidence, with additional documentation possible. Ask which expenses qualify, what evidence is needed, who approves the request and what happens if work or documentation is incomplete. Do not treat a requested or approved amount as cash already received.
Check the balance that earns interest
“Interest only” does not establish whether interest applies to the full commitment or only disbursed funds. Lima One distinguishes full-budget and drawn-fund interest. On Kiavi’s Interest as Drawn loans, rehab advances increase unpaid principal and subsequent payments. These are provider examples, not Integra terms. Ask for the interest-bearing balance, accrual start date, day-count method, payment dates and any minimum-interest or other charges. Enter expected cash payments below; compare written terms in the proposal-comparison guide.
Follow cash recycling through the exit
A reimbursement can replenish cash for another phase. It remains borrowing and may increase principal. In a simplified hypothetical, $25,000 of opening cash falls to $10,000 after a $15,000 work payment, returns to $25,000 after a matching draw, then falls to $5,000 after a $20,000 payment and returns to $25,000 after another matching draw. Work payments total $35,000; the largest temporary cash use is $20,000. If both draws increase principal, they add $35,000 of debt. Fees, interest and other bills are omitted from this illustration.
Record each payment and later receipt separately, in time order. Do not add every phase’s cash gap and call that the peak requirement. Test delayed receipts too: a positive ending balance does not remove an earlier shortfall. Carry the schedule through completion, holding costs and the intended sale or refinance. A rental refinance needs its own approval; an extension is not assured. Use planning repayment for bridge financing alongside your cash schedule.
Build a dated cash schedule
Start immediately after acquisition closing. Opening cash excludes closing costs already paid and unavailable or required reserves. The buffer is your planning choice, not a lender requirement. Enter expected dates in chronological order; rows on the same date follow the order shown. Leave unused rows entirely blank. In a used row, enter both amounts, using 0 for a known zero. Blank or uncertain inputs leave the estimate incomplete.
To discuss the project, use the completed schedule with your property summary, scope, payment milestones, intended exit and open draw questions. The inquiry desk prepares an email; you review and send it in your email app. Save sensitive documents for an appropriate next step.
Put a slower sale into the plan
Separate renovation completion from the time needed to market, contract and close the sale. Check how that schedule relates to any proposed loan maturity. Ask about delay notification, extension conditions and costs; do not assume an extension or replacement loan will be available.
Review a lower sale price and a longer ownership period together. Identify what you would reconsider if the original plan no longer works.
Prepare your project inquiry
Bring your summary, the main unknowns and the questions you want to discuss to the project inquiry desk. It prepares an email for Eric Portnoy at eportnoy@brandsbyintegra.com.
Review the message, open your email app and send it when ready. Preparing the email does not send it.
Sources and notes: General planning guidance; no provider's terms establish Integra's criteria. Sources checked October 7, 2026: Lima One's project and experience FAQs, Kiavi's explanation of project and holding costs, and Anchor Loans' draw and extension FAQs. The budget example is independently constructed arithmetic.