203k Loan from Contractor point of view

[Justin Sullivan]

So I'm a contractor/investor from south jersey. Although I invest in real estate I own a construction company which I primary work in the field daily. I have a job coming up for a homeowner who wants to take advantage of the 203k loan. Now I've done flips before where I had to have initial money to start the project then received draws based on work completed. I set the schedule budget and draw process prior and called in when I was ready. I've heard nightmare stories specifically about the 203k loan program. I have a client who is looking to have their house renovated using the 203k loan and he informed me that his loan officer stressed the house needed to be livable within 60 days and asked if I was capable of doing this. (don't ask me why the 60 day thing, He already had another property with FHA and needed to close one before the other, not exactly sure that just what I was told) So I simply responded yes anything is possible with good funds and a strict timeline. I asked how much his initial deposit is and how the draw process will work with this loan. He just got back to me after confirming with his loan officer and said "there is no initial deposit and the first draw will be after 3-4 weeks." I don't think my client knows that he has to keep some money (atleast 15%) extra to get me started with materials so the job can move. Also after all the stories I've heard with how 203k pays I'm not sure how they expect to make it livable in 8 weeks if they cant even get me my first payout until midway through? Just wanted to hear everyone else experience with this specific loan. This is a very large job and would be good for my business so I don't want to pass it up but I'm also not going to put down a majority of this 100k job to get it moving especially if I have to wait months for my final payment.

Any experience info would be greatly appreciated!