What is a remote draw inspection?

How a remote inspection works.

Someone at the property, usually the borrower, the builder or a field contact, captures photos or streams live video while a reviewer elsewhere directs what to show. The reviewer compares the evidence with the draw request and records progress, much as an on-site inspector would. The difference is who holds the camera, and whether that person is independent of the request.

Remote inspections go by several names: virtual inspections, desktop inspections, video inspections. Borrower-captured photo submissions without a live reviewer are usually called self-inspection draws.

Where it fits and where it doesn't.

Remote verification fits draws where the work is easy to see and the risk is modest: small draws, simple scopes, interior finish work, or a borrower with a long track record. It fits less well when the evidence is hard to capture on camera or the stakes are high:

• work about to be covered, such as underground plumbing or framing before drywall;
• stored materials, where quantity, location and condition all matter;
• large draws, the first and final draws, and any draw after an exception;
• projects where the location or identity of the property itself is in question.

Most lenders that use remote inspections pair them with periodic on-site visits rather than relying on them alone.

Controls that make the evidence usable.

Remote evidence is only as good as its chain of custody. Useful controls include capture inside an app rather than uploads from a camera roll, date and time stamps, GPS location on every photo, required views tied to each budget line, and identity checks on the person capturing. See what photos are required for a draw inspection.

Why it matters for lenders.

Put remote inspections in the credit policy: which loans qualify, what evidence each submission needs, and what sends a draw back to an on-site visit. The FDIC's examination manual treats inspection and disbursement controls as core parts of a construction lending program, remote or not.

How RAZE handles it.

RAZE supports both sides of a mixed program. For evidence captured by someone already at the property, the lender sends a Direct Request to the borrower or general contractor, who completes it in the RAZE Mobile App with the lender's required questions and photos. For an independent visit, the order goes to a RAZE Marketplace inspector or the lender's own inspector. Every photo carries GPS coordinates, date and time stamps and the device behind it, so remote and on-site evidence are held to one standard.