Business-Purpose Loan Determination
Document why a loan is business-purpose, and catch the files that aren't
Install it in one line — paste a single command into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor and it writes the skill into your project.
Free, and about thirty seconds: a work email and a six-digit code.
Downloading shares your name, firm, role, and email with The Helvetica Group. That introduction is what keeps every skill here free.
What this skill does
Documents why a loan on residential property is a business loan and not a consumer loan, the distinction most private lenders depend on. It weighs the real evidence (who lives there, where the money goes, what the borrower does for a living), catches the red flags a signed certification won't fix, and writes a worksheet your file can defend. Confirm every determination with your counsel.
What it does
- Compares the borrower's address across the application, ID, credit report and mailing address
- Scores each factor (borrower type, occupancy, tax exemption, insurance type, use of proceeds, experience) as supporting business use, neutral, or pointing to consumer
- Flags the classic warning signs, such as "we'll move in after the rehab", a cash-out on the borrower's own home, or a relative living there rent-free
- Checks that business-purpose and occupancy certifications are signed, specific and not contradicted by anything else in the file
- Reaches one of four documented positions, from supported to do not proceed, with the reasons and any conditions to clear before closing
- Suggests a post-closing occupancy check where the file had any doubt
When to use it
- Any loan on a 1 to 4 unit residential property
- The borrower is an individual or a brand-new LLC
- It is a cash-out loan and you are not sure where the money is going
- Something in the file hints the borrower might live there
What to have ready
- The property and borrower details
- Where the borrower lives now, and the documents showing it
- What the loan proceeds will be used for
- Any certifications already signed, plus leases, tax bill and insurance if you have them
How to use it
- Download it with the button above. You'll sign in with a work email — that's how the creator knows who is using their skill.
- Copy the install prompt from the "Run it in Claude" box, and paste it into Claude along with the file. Claude installs the skill, fills in your firm's details where the file has
[BRACKETED]placeholders, and runs a quick test with you. - Then just ask in plain English. Claude picks the skill up on its own when a request matches it. Anything it still needs, it asks you for — it won't invent a number.
"Here's the application for a [LOAN AMOUNT] cash-out on a duplex in [CITY]. The borrower is an individual and says they rent both units. Is this business-purpose, and what do we need in the file?"
What you get back
A one to two page determination worksheet: loan and borrower facts, occupancy and use-of-proceeds evidence, a scored factor table, red flags, a certification check, a documented position, closing conditions and a line for counsel's sign-off.
Good to know
- Output quality tracks input quality. A missing figure is flagged as missing — it is never estimated to fill a gap.
- Every draft is a starting point for your own review, not a finished decision.
- Runs anywhere Claude does: the Claude app, Claude Desktop, or Claude Code.
- It records a documented position for your counsel to confirm and never suggests wording to make a consumer loan look like a business one.
Legal disclaimer
This skill drafts; it does not decide. Its output is not legal, tax, accounting, appraisal, or investment advice, and using it creates no attorney-client, fiduciary, or advisory relationship. Nothing it produces is a commitment to lend or an offer to sell a security. Verify every number, date, citation, and conclusion against the source documents, and have a qualified professional licensed in the relevant jurisdiction review the work before you rely on it or send it to a borrower, investor, counterparty, or regulator. Laws, rates, and market data change. The final work product is yours.
Inside this skill
The actual file you get. Members can read it in full before saving it.
Business-Purpose Loan Determination
Most private lenders on residential property can only lend the way they do because their loans are business-purpose: made to investors, for investment property, for business use. If a loan that was treated as business-purpose turns out to be a consumer loan — the borrower moved in, or the cash-out paid off personal credit cards — the lender may have missed disclosures, licensing requirements and fee limits that applied all along. A signed certification helps, but it does not override the facts. This skill gathers the facts, weighs them, and writes up a worksheet the file can defend.
Works for bridge, fix-and-flip, DSCR/rental, construction and cash-out loans secured by residential 1–4 unit property, and for mixed-use or unusual cases. Commercial property rarely raises the question but can (a live-work unit, a borrower's residence above a storefront). For the separate question of whether the lender needs a license in the state, use state-licensing-navigator.
Step 1 — Intake
| Input | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Property address and type | ✅ | SFR, condo, 2–4 unit, mixed-use; number of units |
| Borrower and guarantors | ✅ | Individual or entity; if entity, who owns it and when it was formed |
| Borrower's current residence | ✅ | Address from the application, ID, credit report and mailing address — compare them |
| Loan purpose | ✅ | Purchase, refinance, cash-out, construction |
| Use of proceeds | ✅ | Purchase and rehab, payoff of an existing lien, and for cash-out: where the money goes |
| Occupancy plan | ✅ | Tenant-occupied, vacant for rehab and resale, to be rented, family member living there, borrower to occupy at any point |
| Certifications signed or to be signed | Helpful | Business-purpose affidavit, non-owner-occupancy certification, use-of-proceeds statement |
| Supporting documents | Helpful | Leases, tax bill (homestead status), insurance declarations (landlord vs homeowner policy), utility accounts, rehab budget, borrower's other properties and experience |
| Lender's own policy | Helpful | If the lender has a written business-purpose policy, apply it and cite it |
Minimum viable: property, borrower, borrower's current residence and use of proceeds. With fewer facts than that, the worksheet can only list what is needed.
Step 2 — Why the label matters (the concept)
Reading the full skill counts as a download. The contributor receives your name, company, and email.
Ratings & reviews
No written reviews yet. If you run this on a live file, say how it went. The next lender reading this page is deciding whether to trust it.
Examination record
Run it in Claude
- Copy the install command above
- Paste it into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor
- It writes the skill in, fills in your firm’s details, and test-runs it with you
Prefer the file? The prompt above is for a package you already downloaded.
Details
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