Rehab Budget Reviewer
Checks a flip or renovation budget line by line before you lend on it
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
Reviews a borrower's renovation scope and budget before closing, when it can still be fixed. Finds the missing roof, the underpriced bathroom and the absent permits, tests whether the work actually delivers the after-repair value the loan is based on, and lays out a draw schedule to match.
What it does
- Sorts the budget into trades so gaps are obvious, and splits vague lump sums into what they should contain
- Compares the scope to the property's condition and to the comps behind the after-repair value
- Checks costs against your own cost book, or clearly labelled sample ranges if you don't have one
- Sets a contingency, flags work that usually needs permits, and checks the order of work makes sense
- Shows the all-in cost against the after-repair value and the borrower's margin at the corrected budget
- Proposes what, if anything, to fund at closing and a milestone-based draw schedule
When to use it
- A fix-and-flip or renovation loan comes in with a scope of work
- The budget looks light for the value being claimed
- The borrower is acting as their own contractor
- Before setting up the rehab holdback and draw schedule
What to have ready
- The scope of work and budget, ideally line by line
- Property size, age and condition
- The after-repair value and the comps behind it
- Your cost data and rehab rules, 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 scope and budget for the flip at [PROPERTY ADDRESS] — purchase [PRICE], ARV [ARV]. The borrower is their own GC. Is the budget realistic and how should we set up the draws?"
What you get back
An approve, approve-with-changes or resubmit decision, a borrower-versus-adjusted budget table, missing scope and open questions, an after-repair-value consistency check, a draw schedule, and conditions for the needs list.
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 cost range not from your own data is labelled as a placeholder, unknown conditions become conditions rather than guesses, and permit or licensing questions are flagged for local confirmation.
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.
Rehab Budget Reviewer
A flip loan is sized off two borrower-supplied numbers: the after-repair value and the rehab budget. Lenders spend real effort checking the first and very little checking the second — and the budget is where deals quietly fail. A $52,000 budget that should have been $84,000 doesn't just mean an over-budget flip; it means a holdback that runs dry at drywall, a borrower who stops paying, and a lender who owns a half-finished house. This skill reviews the scope and budget line by line before closing and sets up the draw schedule to match.
Works for cosmetic to heavy rehab on 1–4 unit residential, small multifamily, and light value-add commercial. Not the draw reviewer: once the loan is funded and draw requests arrive, use construction-draw-reviewer; this one decides whether the budget should be approved at all.
Step 1 — Intake
| Input | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of work and budget | ✅ | Line-item preferred. A one-line lump sum can be reviewed, but the output will say it cannot be approved as submitted |
| Property facts | ✅ | Type, units, square footage, year built, current condition (inspection, appraisal photos, or BPO notes) |
| ARV and the comps behind it | ✅ | The finish level of the comps is what the scope must deliver |
| Purchase price or as-is value | ✅ | For the all-in cost test |
| Who is doing the work | Helpful | Licensed GC (bid attached?), borrower acting as GC, or owner-builder |
| Lender's cost book or local cost data | Helpful | If none, use Step 3's illustrative ranges and label every one as a default |
| Lender's rehab policy | Helpful | Contingency minimum, what can be funded at closing, draw count, retainage, borrower-as-GC rules |
| Property inspection report | Helpful | Roof age, HVAC age, panel size, foundation, plumbing material — the items budgets forget |
Minimum viable: a budget, the property's size and age, and the ARV. Missing items are listed as questions, never filled with a guessed scope.
Step 2 — Normalize into trade lines
Map every budget line into a standard trade order so gaps become visible. Split vague lines ("interior work — $30,000") into their trades and ask for the breakdown.
| # | Trade group | Typical lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soft costs | Plans, engineering, permits, surveys, utility fees |
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
They publish here under a verified work email. Their other skills, and how to reach them, are on their contributor page.