What is a draw request?

What a complete draw request contains.

A draw request package varies by lender and program, but a complete one usually includes:

• The request itself, listing each budget line, the amount previously funded, the amount requested now and the resulting percent complete. Commercial projects submit this as a pay application with a schedule of values; some programs use a standard form, such as HUD's draw request form for 203(k) loans.
• Supporting documents: invoices or receipts, change orders already approved, and lien waivers from the contractor and subcontractors for prior payments. A construction lien gives an unpaid contractor an interest in the property, which is why waivers are collected draw by draw. State law shapes the forms: Florida, for one, prescribes statutory waiver forms and bars waiving lien rights in advance (§ 713.20).
• Progress evidence: the borrower's or builder's photos, and the lender-ordered draw inspection that independently verifies the claim.

An incomplete package is the most common cause of a slow draw. Missing lien waivers and requests that do not reconcile to the prior draw stall more funding than inspection turnaround does.

From request to funding decision.

The sequence is consistent across lenders. The request comes in. The administrator checks it against the draw schedule, the budget and the prior draws. An inspection is ordered. The inspector reports percent complete by line item with photos. The reviewer compares the report with the request and funds the supported amount, holds the unsupported portion, or asks for more evidence. Title may be updated and a lien search run before disbursement. Every step leaves a document, and together those documents are the audit trail for that draw.

Why it matters for lenders.

The draw request is the moment the lender's money leaves. The OCC's Commercial Real Estate Lending booklet expects disbursements to be supported by inspection, budget monitoring and lien controls, and expects the file to show it. A request that is funded on the builder's say-so, or on photos the builder took, is funded on evidence the lender did not control.

How RAZE handles it.

RAZE sits at the inspection step. When a request arrives, the lender creates the inspection in the Ordering Engine with the property, the line items and the required deliverables, and routes it to its own inspectors or to RAZE Marketplace coverage. The report comes back in one standardized format, with line-item percentages and photos tied to the request, so the reviewer is comparing like with like. RAZE verifies; the lender decides what to fund.