Your first flip: the checklist lenders wish every borrower had

Before you look at houses

• Form the entity. LLC or corporation, EIN, operating agreement, business bank account. Business-purpose lenders lend to entities, not individuals.
• Know your cash position. Down payment, closing costs, and reserves. Write the number down before you shop — it defines your price range more than any pre-approval.
• Recruit the contractor first. A committed, licensed, insured GC with capacity is worth more than a signed purchase contract. Walk candidates through a sample scope and watch how they estimate.
• Pick your market and learn its comps. One town studied deeply beats five towns skimmed. You should know what renovated properties sell for before the deal appears.

When you have a deal in hand

• The contract — signed purchase and sale, with a closing date your financing can actually meet.
• The budget — line-item renovation scope from your contractor, not a per-square-foot guess, with a contingency line of about ten percent inside it.
• The value case — three to five sold comparables supporting your after-repair value; see how lenders size loans from ARV and cost.
• The timeline — renovation weeks plus listing weeks plus realistic days-on-market, and carrying costs calculated across all of it.
• The exit — sale as primary; know your refinance fallback if the market slows.

The arithmetic that decides everything

Total cost — purchase, renovation, carrying, financing, and selling costs — against supported ARV. If the margin between them doesn't survive a ten percent budget overrun and a five percent softer sale price at the same time, it is not a first project; it is a gamble. The discipline to pass on thin deals is the single strongest predictor of a second project.

Questions to ask any lender — including us

1. What is the all-in cost — rate, points, and every fee — on one written pricing sheet?
2. How many days does a draw take, and how is work verified? (What good draw administration looks like.)
3. Do I pay interest on the full amount including holdback, or on funds as disbursed?
4. What are the extension terms if the project runs long?
5. What happens at payoff — per-diem interest, unused holdback credited, release timeline?

A professional lender answers all five in writing without flinching. When your file is ready — entity, contract, budget, comps, exit — send us the deal. You will get a straight answer and a written pricing sheet, whichever way the answer goes.