First hard money loan

[Tyriek Hull]

Hello so I just closed on my first property and thought I was educated with how hard money lenders works but seems I may have misunderstood. 

So I have a fully funded construction budget of 58k. But it sounds like I have to pay first and basically ask for a reimbursement? I’m totally confused as to what’s the point of having a loan if I’m still using my capital basically to fund the rehab. And finding a contractor who’s gonna take on material & labor cost is gonna be hard specially when I’m just starting out. 

Any advice anyone can share? 

I do have a contractor and we’re already drawing up plans but I don’t think he was fan when he found out they require work to be done before any draws. does having a contract in place with contractors make situation better for them to upfront cost?