Whether your motivation is to add value to your property or to add a touch of your personality to the home, working with the right lender or mortgage broker will enable you to find solutions that benefit your long-term goal, rather than hindering future plans.

Your broker can help you reassess your current financial position, run through your plans and future payments, and calculate how much new debt you can afford to take on.

Work out the specifics of your renovation, and compare that with how much you are eligible to borrow.

When refinancing to renovate, the type of renovation proposed goes a long way to dictating the loan required and determining which loan will suit your needs and objectives.

If you’ve been in your home for a while, chances are that you have considerable equity, both as a result of paying off your initial home loan and from rising property values.

As long as you can meet the repayments and the renovations are likely to add value to your property, most lenders should be willing to lend you a percentage of your equity for home renovations.

Depending on your situation, this equity could be accessed through redrawing, increasing your existing loan or refinancing your loan entirely.

A mortgage broker will be able to advise on the best option for you.

Installing a new bathroom or kitchen, painting the interior or exterior of the house and other basic construction falls under an equity release loan.

You may need a construction loan.

Construction loans are suitable for structural work in your home, for example, if you’re adding a new room or making changes to the roof.

Construction loans give homeowners the opportunity to access larger sums of money, with the amount largely dependent upon the expected value of the property after renovations are completed.

Council approval and a fixed-price building contract are required.

The lender will appoint an assessor to value your construction at each stage of the renovation and then payment to the builder happens.

Many home loan providers allow “interest only” for an initial period.

This will help to keep your costs down during the building period.

Make an appointment to determine which loan will give you the options you seek to make your grand renovation plans a reality.

This advice is essential, as a poorly planned construction loan could cost you more down the road!