Your cash to close on a fix-and-flip loan is the money you still need to send for the purchase and closing charges after subtracting the lender's closing advance, your credited deposit and other approved credits.
In the hypothetical flip below, your closing wire is $25,000. You need access to $54,000 across the acquisition, renovation and holding period, including $5,000 kept available for unexpected expenses. Why the difference? You pay some project bills before the lender reimburses the work, while other costs come out of your own cash.
Work out the closing wire, then the largest cash requirement while the project is underway. You can follow the example in the editable cash-to-close worksheet.
Separate the loan amount from the money available at closing
A purchase-and-rehab loan can include an advance to buy the property and a renovation budget the lender holds for later releases. Lenders call the second amount a rehab holdback. Kiavi's draw guide explains how lenders verify completed work before releasing those funds.
Suppose your written terms provide a $220,000 loan, including a $40,000 rehab holdback. That leaves $180,000 for the acquisition before any applicable deductions. The $40,000 for repairs becomes available under the draw conditions, as the work progresses.
Ask your lender for the total loan amount, the closing advance and the amount available after deductions. Use those figures with the purchase price and closing charges to calculate what you must contribute.
Calculate the remaining closing wire
Purchase price + buyer closing charges − gross lender advance at closing − credited deposit − other approved credits = remaining cash to close.
Use the lender advance before deductions if you list those deductions among the closing charges. If you start with net proceeds, remove charges already deducted from the costs you add. Count each cost once.
Your closing professional's final settlement figures control the actual wire. Use the calculation to prepare and check your budget.
Example: buying a $200,000 property
This is a hypothetical example, not a loan offer. It assumes the lender approves the structure and you pay the deposit from your own cash.
| Closing item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $200,000 |
| Buyer closing charges | $10,000 |
| Less acquisition loan advance | −$180,000 |
| Less earnest money already paid and credited | −$5,000 |
| Other approved credits | $0 |
| Remaining closing wire | $25,000 |
Your contribution toward the purchase price is $20,000. Closing charges add $10,000, bringing your acquisition cash to $30,000. You already paid $5,000 of that amount as earnest money, so the remaining wire is $25,000.
The $10,000 is a placeholder for this example. Get an itemized estimate covering the actual lender charges, settlement services, recording charges, prepaid items and any other costs on your deal. A lender might finance some charges; Groundfloor's borrower FAQ describes one such arrangement. Financing a fee changes how you pay it and can increase the debt you repay.
Your earnest money also needs its own line. A credited deposit counts toward the purchase at closing, as Wells Fargo explains. If someone funded that deposit for you, check the funding agreement and settlement statement for who must be repaid, how much and when. List any repayment and fees as separate obligations. Count only your own contribution as cash you have invested.
Plan the cash you need after closing
The first rehab phase in our example costs $15,000. If your contractor needs that money before the lender reimburses the work, where will it come from? Agree on a payment schedule with the contractor and confirm what work, evidence and review the lender requires before releasing the draw.
Ask about deductions, too. For example, CoreVest's draw instructions describe fees deducted from disbursements. A $15,000 approved draw could put less than $15,000 into your account if charges apply.
Add ongoing expenses to the same calendar: loan payments due during the project, utilities, taxes, insurance, property maintenance and other bills you must pay before resale. Include payments when you expect to make them. Leave out amounts already covered by a prepaid item or a funded reserve, so you do not count them twice.
Follow the example through the renovation
Assume the rehab costs $40,000, split into $15,000, $15,000 and $10,000 phases. The lender reimburses each phase in full before you pay for the next. You also pay $2,000 of holding costs during each of four periods, including the interest and other carrying expenses due in those periods.
This example assumes no draw deductions, extra work or additional cash before resale. The holding amounts and payment order are illustrative; replace them with your actual bills and draw terms.
"Cash committed so far" below is the cash you have paid into the deal, minus the rehab draws you have received. It includes your earlier deposit. The separate contingency is added after the table.
| Event | Cash paid | Draw received | Cash committed so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earnest money deposit | $5,000 | $0 | $5,000 |
| Remaining closing wire | $25,000 | $0 | $30,000 |
| First rehab phase and holding costs | $17,000 | $0 | $47,000 |
| First reimbursement | $0 | $15,000 | $32,000 |
| Second rehab phase and holding costs | $17,000 | $0 | $49,000 |
| Second reimbursement | $0 | $15,000 | $34,000 |
| Final rehab phase and holding costs | $12,000 | $0 | $46,000 |
| Final reimbursement | $0 | $10,000 | $36,000 |
| Last period of holding costs before resale | $2,000 | $0 | $38,000 |
Your highest cash requirement is $49,000, just before the second reimbursement. At that point, you have put in $30,000 for the acquisition and paid $34,000 for work and holding costs. You have received $15,000 from the first draw: $30,000 + $34,000 − $15,000 = $49,000.
By the end of the listed events, you have $38,000 of your own cash in the deal. Part funded your ownership interest, and part paid expenses. The rehab draws came from your loan and still require repayment. Calculate profit after accounting for the sale, loan payoff and all project costs.
If you keep another $5,000 available for unexpected expenses, you need access to $54,000 in total. That includes your $5,000 deposit. Once you have paid the deposit, you need $49,000 still available for the remaining payments and the contingency.
The $5,000 contingency is an example, not a lender requirement or a recommendation for every flip. Match your cushion to the scope, condition, timeline and financing terms. If your lender requires cash reserves, confirm how much you must keep available and whether you can use it for project expenses. Kiavi's contingency guide distinguishes renovation funding from cash the investor keeps outside the loan.
Check one delay before you commit
Move the first $15,000 reimbursement until after the second phase's payments. If you keep paying the contractor and holding costs on the original schedule, your peak cash commitment rises from $49,000 to $64,000. Keeping the same $5,000 contingency would require $69,000 of capacity, including the deposit.
That change assumes you continue the work while waiting for the draw. You might instead agree to a different payment or work schedule, but discuss it before the next bill comes due.
Use the editable cash-to-close worksheet to put your own figures on a payment calendar. List events in payment order, add missing costs and enter the draw amounts you expect to receive after deductions. To test the delay above, move the first $15,000 receipt until after the second work payment while keeping the second $15,000 receipt in the schedule. The model assumes both arrive before you pay for the final phase.
The example stops before resale. Estimate sale proceeds after selling costs but before debt repayment. Check that amount against outstanding principal, accrued interest and payoff charges, and add any shortfall to your cash plan. A loan maturity date can also require action before your expected sale date.
Tell us where you need funding
If your numbers show a shortfall, tell us where it occurs: at the deposit, at closing, during the work or near repayment. That makes a fix, flip and rehab funding conversation more useful than asking for a loan amount alone.
Send the property location, purchase price, repair budget, target closing date and available cash. Include any existing funding terms and explain your resale or refinance plan. Estimates are enough to begin the conversation; label what still needs confirmation.
For a proposed gap or down-payment arrangement, confirm whether the main lender permits that source of capital and the resulting obligations. Adding another loan does not establish that you have met its equity requirement.
Tell us about your deal. We can review the purchase, renovation and cash timing together. Available funding options and terms depend on that review.