How do weekly labor draws work for rehab projects?

We quote your full project price upfront. Instead of paying 30-50% as a deposit, you pay weekly as labor progresses. Each payment is credited toward your project total. Draws start at $4k/week for smaller projects and scale with project size. Materials are separate: we provide detailed lists and you purchase directly, so you control the spend.

Is SLH a project manager or contractor?

We're the licensed general contractor. Our crews do the work: demo, framing, plumbing, electrical, finishes, everything. We're not a middleman coordinating other contractors.

Why do investors purchase materials separately?

Transparency. Traditional contractors mark up materials or bundle them so you can't see what you're paying. We provide detailed material lists with quantities and timing. You buy directly from suppliers at cost. No hidden markup, full visibility.

What payment methods do you accept for rehab projects?

The $150 scope fee can be paid by credit card. All other payments (weekly labor draws, final balances) are wire transfer, check, or cash only. No credit cards for project payments.

How do I qualify for Portfolio Partner pricing?

You qualify with either 3 or more concurrent projects OR a commitment to 5+ projects per year. This gives you 10% off weekly labor draw rates plus priority scheduling and included pre-acquisition estimates.

Do you handle permits for rehab projects?

Yes, as an add-on service. We manage the entire permit process including applications, coordinating inspections, and maintaining documentation. Permit fees are passed through at cost.

How do weekly labor draws protect my investment?

Weekly labor draws cap your exposure at one week of work. Instead of handing over a big deposit, you pay only for completed work each week. If work stops, payment stops. You never have more than $4,000 at risk instead of $13,500+.

What happens if I am not happy with the work at the end of a week?

You hold the draw. Simple. If the work doesn't match the weekly milestone, the check doesn't get cut until it does. You have leverage every single week, not just at some vague milestone point.

Do you work with hard money lenders?

Yes. Weekly draws actually work well with hard money lenders because draws are tied to verified completed work. That's exactly what lenders want to see before releasing funds. We provide documentation that satisfies most lender draw requirements.

What is included in the $150 scope visit?

Full property walkthrough, detailed scope of work document, line-item cost estimate, projected timeline, and a weekly draw schedule for your specific rehab. Everything you need to evaluate the project before committing a dollar.

Can I use my own materials?

Yes. A lot of investors prefer buying their own materials to control costs and kill the markup. We work with investor-supplied materials on every project. You buy it, we install it.

Why Real Estate Investors Lose Money on Contractors

Here's what happened to the last three investors I talked to before they found us. They each handed a contractor somewhere between $12,000 and $24,000 as a deposit. One got ghosted after demo. One got half the work done at twice the timeline. One got work so bad they had to pay someone else to redo it.

Three different contractors, same story. The deposit model is broken. It rewards contractors for getting hired, not for doing the work.

It's Not a People Problem. It's a Structure Problem.

Most investors think the answer is "find a better contractor." That's like saying the answer to getting pickpocketed is "find a better crowd." The problem isn't the individual. It's the system that puts your money in someone else's pocket before they've earned it.

A 30% deposit on a $45K rehab is $13,500 out the door before a single nail gets hammered. The contractor now has your money and three other jobs competing for his crew's time. Guess which job gets priority? The one that just paid him, not the one that paid him three weeks ago.

The Math on a Real Deal

You bought at $180K. ARV is $280K. Rehab budget is $45K. You hand over that $13,500 deposit and the contractor drags. Every extra month costs you roughly $2,500 in holding costs - hard money interest, insurance, utilities, taxes. A two-month delay just ate $5,000. Combined with the deposit risk, you're $18,500 exposed before you've seen real progress.

That's not bad luck. That's a predictable outcome of a bad payment structure.

What We Do Instead

At Seller's Little Helpers, we use weekly labor draws. $4,000/week for actual labor performed that week. No deposit. Materials purchased separately at cost.

Here's why it works:

Your maximum exposure at any point is one week of labor. That's it.
If the crew doesn't show Monday, you don't cut a check Friday.
Weekly payments create weekly checkpoints. You know exactly where things stand every 5 business days.
If work stops, payment stops. That single clause changes everything.

How It Works Day to Day

Your project gets a detailed scope of work before anything starts. We break the rehab into weekly milestones. Each Friday, you review what got done. If the work matches the plan, the draw gets released. If it doesn't, the draw gets held until it does.

This isn't some new idea we invented. Commercial construction has worked this way for decades. The residential rehab world just never adopted it because contractors preferred the old model. Wonder why.

Why Deposits Are a Red Flag

Any contractor who needs 30-50% upfront is telling you something. They need your money to fund other projects. That's not a contractor. That's someone using your capital as a line of credit.

Best case, your money buys materials for your job. Worst case, it funds payroll on someone else's project.

With weekly draws, materials are purchased by you at cost or reimbursed with receipts. Labor is paid weekly. There's no reason for a big upfront payment. Ever.

Run the Numbers Yourself

On a $45K rehab with weekly draws at $4,000/week:

Week 1: $4,000 (demo and rough work)
Week 2: $4,000 (framing and rough electrical)
Week 3: $4,000 (plumbing and HVAC)
Weeks 4-8: $4,000/week (finishes, fixtures, punch list)
Total: around $32K labor + $13K materials = $45K

Same total budget. But your risk at any given point is $4,000, not $13,500. If something goes sideways in week 3, you've lost $4,000, not $13,500.

Stop Calling It Bad Luck

Contractor problems aren't random. They're the predictable result of a payment structure that rewards getting hired over doing the work. Weekly draws don't rely on trust. They rely on incentives. And in this business, aligned incentives are the closest thing to a guarantee you'll ever get.

Ready to see how this works on your next deal? Book a $150 scope visit at sellerslittlehelpers.com - we'll walk your property, build a detailed scope of work, and show you exactly what the weekly draw schedule looks like. Call (708) 536-6700 or email info@sellerslittlehelpers.com.

Why Real Estate Investors Lose Money on Contractors (And What Actually Fixes It)