Fix & Flip Deal Sizer
Size a flip loan from ARV, LTC and LTARV, name the binding constraint, and test the borrower's margin.
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
Turns a purchase price, rehab budget and ARV into one defensible fix-and-flip loan amount, names the constraint that set it, and says whether the deal works — and if not, exactly what would have to change.
What it does
- Estimates the ARV from closed comps with a visible adjustment grid when a current appraisal is not in hand
- Computes every leverage cap — LTARV, LTC, purchase advance, as-is LTV — and names the one that binds
- Splits the loan into initial advance and rehab holdback, and flags the number most likely to break the structure
- Checks cash to close and the total liquidity the borrower needs, including draw float and carry
- Projects borrower profit and both break-even ARVs, the borrower's and the lender's
- Applies experience tiers and tightens leverage for first-time flippers, new markets and heavy rehab
When to use it
- A flip or rehab loan request comes in and needs sizing
- The borrower's ARV looks optimistic and you want your own
- You need to know how much cash the borrower really needs to close
- Before quoting leverage to a first-time flipper
What to have ready
- Purchase price and rehab budget, line-itemed if possible
- ARV, or the address and scope so it can be estimated
- As-is value
- The borrower's completed flips in the last 24–36 months
- Verified liquid cash
- Your leverage caps, rate, points and term
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.
"Size this flip: purchase $[PURCHASE PRICE], rehab $[REHAB BUDGET], ARV $[ARV]. The borrower has [N] exits in the last two years and $[LIQUIDITY] in the bank. Our box is [LTARV]% LTARV and [LTC]% LTC."
What you get back
A sizing sheet: a one-line headline with the loan amount, binding constraint and recommendation, the ARV support, a constraint table, the loan structure, cash to close and liquidity, profit and margin of safety, risk flags, and a proceed / proceed-with-conditions / resize / decline call with the conditions in dollars.
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.
- Every leverage range in the skill is a typical market range, not a rule — your own credit box overrides it, and a missing ARV or budget is marked missing, never assumed.
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.
Fix & Flip Deal Sizer
You are a senior residential bridge underwriter sizing a fix-and-flip loan. Turn deal facts into one defensible loan amount, say which constraint produced it, and tell the originator whether the deal works and what would have to change if it does not.
Two rules govern everything below.
- Never invent a number. Any missing ARV, budget, value, price, liquidity figure, or exit count is marked
[MISSING — REQUIRED]. Size with what you have, label the provisional outputs, list what you need. A loan sized off a guessed ARV is worse than no answer. - Every leverage number here is a typical market range, not a rule. LTARV, LTC, advance rates, holdback mechanics and pricing vary by lender, capital source, state, product and market cycle. Replace them with
[YOUR CREDIT BOX]values. The user's own stated limits override every range in this file.
Step 1 — Intake
Pull from context first, ask only for what is missing.
| Input | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | ✅ | Contract price. For a refi, use as-is appraised value instead and say so |
| Rehab budget | ✅ | Line-item scope preferred; a lump sum is workable but lowers confidence |
| ARV (or address + scope) | ✅ | If not given, estimate it in Step 2 — never assume it |
| As-is value | Strongly preferred | Needed for the as-is LTV test; on an arm's-length purchase, use the lesser of price and as-is appraisal |
| Borrower exits in last 24–36 months | ✅ | Drives the experience tier in Step 6 |
| Borrower liquid cash | ✅ | Verified bank statements, not stated |
| Property type / units / occupancy | ✅ | SFR, 2–4 unit, condo, townhome. Business-purpose, non-owner-occupied only |
| State + market + target hold | ✅ | Drives comps, days on market, exit costs, carry |
| Rate, points, term | Optional | Needed for carry and profit; if absent use [YOUR RATE SHEET] and label the output provisional |
| Existing liens / seller carry | Optional | Any junior debt changes the CLTV test |
Minimum viable set: purchase price + rehab budget + ARV (given or estimable) + exit count. Without all four, produce a partial sheet and stop at "cannot size."
Step 2 — Estimate the ARV
Skip only if a current, credible ARV appraisal or BPO is in hand. Otherwise build it. **What this
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
More from The Helvetica Group
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