Slateshire Finance arranges contractor business loans for builders and trades in Sanford, NC and Lee County: working capital for payroll before a draw, a contractor line of credit for uneven months, and equipment financing for machines and trucks. This page explains draws and retainage, matches each cash need to a structure and sets out the county's builder figures.
| Construction employers, Lee County, NC | 164 (CBP 2023) |
|---|---|
| Residential builders with employees | 46, of which 38 under five employees |
| No-payroll construction businesses | 672 (NES 2024) |
| New housing units permitted, 2025 | 674 (BPS) |
How money moves on a building job
A contractor's costs start on day one: wages every Friday, materials on account, fuel, equipment rental. The money comes in later and in pieces. On work paid by draws, the contractor bills in stages (a draw when the foundation is done, another at framing, and so on), the builder or lender inspects, and payment follows some weeks after the request.
Two things widen the gap. First, change orders and inspection delays push draws back. Second, retainage: a percentage of each payment is held until the whole job is accepted. A busy contractor can be owed a large sum and still struggle to make payroll.
Construction loan retainage: the slice held until closeout
Retainage protects the owner against unfinished or faulty work. For the contractor, it is earned money that sits with someone else, sometimes for months after the crew has moved on. Across several overlapping jobs, the total held back can exceed a month of payroll.
A partner may count retainage when reviewing a contractor's receivables, but it does not pay this week's wages. That is the job of working capital or a line of credit.
Illustrative example: a framing sub's first six weeks
Illustration only, not an offer or a typical figure. A framing subcontractor with an $8,000 weekly crew payroll starts a house on the first of the month. The first draw request goes in at the end of week three and is paid at the end of week five. By then the crew has been paid five times, $40,000 out before anything comes in. If 10% of the draw is retained until closeout, a slice of the work stays unpaid even after the draw arrives.
A working capital loan sized to those five weeks, repaid from the draw, is the clean fix. If the same squeeze repeats on every job, a revolving line may suit better than taking a new loan each time; compare the total dollar cost of each.
Contractor financing options, need by need
| Need | Structure | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll before a draw | Working capital | Defined gap, repaid from the draw |
| Gaps that repeat job to job | Contractor line of credit | Draw and repay as jobs cycle |
| Skid steer, trailer, truck | Equipment financing | The machine secures it |
| Shop, yard or a buyout | Term loan | Long-lived, one-time cost |
A contractor's loan is not one product but whichever of these fits the gap. The post on what a contractor’s loan is walks through each.
Contractor line of credit or construction line of credit?
The two terms get used loosely. A contractor line of credit usually means a revolving business line used for the company's running costs. A construction line of credit, in some lenders' language, means funding tied to one project and released in draws. If you are funding your company's payroll and materials across many jobs, the first is what you want; the second is for an owner financing a specific build.
Builders and specialty trades in Lee County, NC
County Business Patterns counted 164 construction employer establishments in Lee County, NC in 2023, with 1,435 employees and about $75.6 million in payroll; 62.8% had fewer than five employees. Within that, residential building construction had 46 employers with 240 employees and about $10.1 million in payroll, and 38 of the 46 (82.6%) had fewer than five employees. Thirty-six of those residential builders were in ZIP 27330.
Nonresidential building construction counted only 3 employers (27 employees). Other specialty trade contractors, such as site preparation and finishing trades, had 18 employers with 206 employees.
Separately, Nonemployer Statistics for 2024 recorded 672 construction businesses with no payroll in the county, including 167 residential builders. Being a different program and year, they are not added to or compared with the employer counts.
Housing activity has climbed: building permits authorized 541 new housing units in 2023, 602 in 2024 and 674 in 2025 (Census Building Permits Survey). More county figures are on the Sanford, NC page.
What partners review on a contractor's request
- Statements where draw and progress deposits show up
- Signed contracts with the draw dates for each live job
- An accounts receivable list, including retainage owed
- A work-in-progress summary for larger firms
- Equipment quotes, for machine purchases
- Contractor license details, which a partner may check
The NC general contractor license guide explains why partners look it up and how to find your record. To estimate a payment first, try the construction business loan calculator.
Electrical contractors have their own page
Electricians share the draw problem but add their own: wire and panel stock bought ahead of rough-in, and vans outfitted as rolling shops. Lee County, NC counted 26 electrical contractor employers in 2023. The electrical contractor page covers those needs in detail. Plumbing and HVAC firms are covered in a short note on the sector list.
