The Construction Draw Process, Start to Finish

A construction loan doesn't hand you the money — it meters it out as the house gets built. Understanding the meter is the difference between draws that fund in three days and draws that starve your subs for three weeks.

The cycle

• Draw schedule set at closing — either milestone-based (foundation, framing, dry-in…) or percentage-of-completion by budget line
• You submit the request — cover sheet, backup, waivers (see our draw-package checklist)
• Lender verifies — a site inspection (their inspector or a third party) confirms the work exists
• Funding — typically 2–7 business days after a clean submission
• Repeat — usually 5–10 draws across a custom build

What slows draws down

Incomplete packages, always. Then: requesting ahead of completed work (inspectors compare percentages to your request), out-of-balance loans (change orders raised the cost but not the loan), and stale documentation from prior draws — missing payment proof or waivers you promised last time.

Retainage adds a wrinkle: many lenders hold 5–10% of each draw until completion. Budget your cash flow assuming you won't see the holdback until the end.

Run the job so draws are a byproduct

Builders who struggle with draws are usually reconstructing the job at draw time. If costs post to the job as they happen — receipts photographed, bills captured, payments recorded, waivers signed as subs are paid — a draw request is a selection, not a project. That's the workflow NeatBuild is built around.