A rehab draw tracker should show what you requested, what the lender approved, what was disbursed, and what reached the bank. Keep those amounts in separate columns. A submitted request is not available cash, and a bank deposit alone does not explain how the lender arrived at the amount.
This guide is for a house-flipping team maintaining its own loan records. It describes an operational register, not advice about which loan to choose or when a lender must release funds.
Start with the lender’s actual requirements
LendingOne’s explanation of rehab funding describes draws supported by documentation or inspections. That is context for why several stages can exist. Your signed agreement, lender portal and disbursement notices determine the requirements for your specific project. Do not assume another lender uses the same inspection process, timing or deductions.
Save the approved budget and assign a stable draw identifier, such as OAK-D03. Preserve the submitted packet under that identifier: work descriptions, invoices, payment evidence when requested, photos or inspection records, and correspondence resolving exceptions. Keep the original submission when sending a revision.
Use stages that do not hide missing money
| Stage | Evidence to retain | Question it answers |
|---|---|---|
| Prepared | Draft packet and internal review | Is this ready to submit? |
| Submitted | Submission receipt and date | Did the lender receive it? |
| Approved or partly approved | Written approval and exclusions | How much is approved? |
| Disbursed | Lender disbursement notice | What did the lender release? |
| Bank matched | Deposit and transaction reference | What cash arrived? |
| Reconciled | Lender statement and resolved differences | Do the loan records agree? |
Add an exception status instead of moving a request forward when evidence is missing. Track follow-up dates as team actions, not promised funding dates.
Worked example: approval is not the deposit
Illustrative numbers only. A flipper requests $18,400 for draw OAK-D03. The lender approves $17,900 and excludes $500 pending further support. Its notice shows a $150 fee withheld from the approved amount, with a net disbursement of $17,750.
The register contains three separate differences:
- Request less approval: $18,400 − $17,900 = $500 requiring follow-up.
- Approval less stated deduction: $17,900 − $150 = $17,750 expected cash.
- Expected cash less bank deposit: $17,750 − $17,750 = $0 unmatched cash.
The cash reconciliation is complete, but the $500 submission issue is still open. Do not report the whole draw as unresolved, and do not report the whole request as funded.
If the $500 is submitted again, reference OAK-D03 in the next packet and mark it as a resubmitted item. This keeps the requested-work total from counting the same invoice twice. Record whether it was eventually approved, withdrawn or otherwise resolved.
Connect the register to the loan ledger
Compare each disbursement with the lender’s statement and the related entry in the books. A fee withheld from proceeds needs its own support; it should not disappear because the deposit matched. Confirm with the responsible accountant how disbursements and fees affect the loan balance and other accounts under the company’s policy.
If the lender pays a contractor directly, there may be no matching deposit into the borrower’s checking account. Preserve the lender notice and payment evidence, flag the payment route, and reconcile the related obligations. Searching only the bank feed would miss that event.
What should the owner review each week?
Review open requests by stage, not just total dollars. Separate packets awaiting internal evidence, lender decisions pending, approvals awaiting disbursement, and cash that needs bank matching. Assign one person and a concrete next action to each open item.
Keep this register alongside the rehab-spending reconciliation. The draw register explains financing progress; the spending records explain the underlying work. Neither should replace the other. A DaxCents scope conversation can establish who maintains each side of that handoff.
Sources and further reading
Source links provide background. The workflow and illustrative examples above are original educational material.