So you’ve decided to renovate but undoubtedly have a lot of questions about how to fund it. You might be wondering how much you can spend, what you can afford to repay, whether the bank lends you enough to pay for your renovation and how you pay the builder. We’re here to give you all the answers and guide you through the process to get a successful outcome.

We have helped clients finance renovations of all sizes, from large projects like lifting a Queenslander and adding new rooms underneath, through to small renovations like adding a back deck or upgrading the kitchen.

The most common approach to finance your renovation is to get an increase or top up on your current home loan. Whichever approach we take, we will ensure you get the right loan and that it’s set up properly from the start. We will show you how to get your finances ready to apply for a loan and advise you how to manage your budget through the renovation.

We have long term relationships with all major lenders and with our expertise in banking policy, you can feel confident that we have a good chance of getting your renovation loan approved.

Best of all, we don’t charge you a fee to use our services as we are paid by the lender when your home loan settles.

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Top 3 tips

Spend at least six months to a year living in the house before you renovate so you get a feel for it.

If you’re moving out during the renovation, make sure you have a buffer saved to pay rent as well as loan repayments.

Your loan repayments are ‘interest only’ (i.e. lower) during the renovation to help you manage cash your flow.

Home Renovation Guide

Here’s our simple process to get a renovation loan.

1. Loan preparation

The first step is to work out whether the bank will lend you the money to finance your renovation. It’s a good idea to get this done early on before you get too far down the track with planning. We will answer all your questions such as: how much you can spend on your renovation, what you can afford to repay and whether the bank will lend you the extra funds. We’ll talk about budgeting and how to manage paying rent (if you’re moving out during the renovation) and loan repayments while your renovation is being built.

2. Design and planning

You will need to need to look at options and designs from different tradespeople to get an idea of what you like. Good choice of design and planning upfront makes a big difference to how happy you are with the finished renovation. Get detailed quotes from the tradespeople whom you’ve decided to work with and consider getting several quotes to compare. The more detail you can include the better, as it helps you to get a better home valuation and it also means there is less confusion between you and the tradespeople.

3. Choose your tradespeople

After choosing your tradespeople, you may need to pay them an initial, non-refundable deposit from your own savings. What happens next depends on the scale of your renovation. If you’re doing a large renovation, the tradespeople will then draw up your plans and a building contract. The building contract itemises what is included in the build. Changes to the contract are known as ‘Variations’ and these are some of the individual touches for your home.

4. Start the renovation loan application process

This is where it all comes together! You will need to complete our simple online fact find and upload your supporting paperwork like payslips, bank statements, contracts and quotes so we can understand your financial situation in detail.

5. Sign your loan application

Once our research is done, we’ll meet face to face to discuss your renovation loan options. There are two main approaches we can take: stay with your current lender or refinance to another lender. Whichever we choose will be based on your personal situation. It’s important you understand how your loan works and how to manage your money through the renovation so you can relax feeling confident that you are staying within your budget. Once you’ve signed the application, we will handle all the fine print and get it submitted to the lender.

6. Renovation loan approved

Waiting for loan approval can be nerve-wracking as it can take from two-to-five business days. We will follow up with the lender regularly and keep you updated. Our expertise in getting renovation loans approved means you can feel reassured you’re in good hands. Once the loan is approved, you will need to talk to your tradespeople about who needs to be paid when and what to get started. If you are doing a small renovation like a deck or bathroom, it’s common to pay up to 50% immediately, but if you are doing a large renovation, you will need to pay the balance of a 5% deposit. Both may be funded drawing down on your renovation loan. At this stage, you will need to start making loan repayments.

7. Construction to Completion

Your renovation can now get underway! The stages to get the work done will depend entirely on the size of your renovation. If you are doing a larger renovation, you will make payments to the tradespeople as they reach certain milestones. This is where you draw down on your renovation loan to pay for the work done.

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Our client experiences

What our clients have to say

Blackk Finance

5.0

Based on 27 reviews

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Blackk Finance

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Upon recommendation of a couple of friends, we had spoken to Victor Kalinowski at Blackk Finance a couple of times over the past two years whilst we looked for our first home. In the beginning, when we were just starting to look seriously, Victor provided us with invaluable advice on demonstrated savings required, deposit amounts, the impact of LMI, and what documentation we’d need to provide for a loan application. We had been looking for a house for about two years and decided to give it a break for a bit - we had encountered some disappointment in the market, and our circumstances had unexpectedly changed. Of course, when we weren’t looking, we accidentally found ‘the house’. We were in a complicated situation (being a small business owner has an impact on loan options, and we had just been through a period of significant health expenses). Instead of shying away from us as a challenging client, Victor dedicated himself to understanding our circumstances and tailored loan options that would be suited to us now, and in the future. He did a lot of research and made a lot of phone calls for us, checking requirements and information, and assisting us with preparing the right documentation, to ensure we would be in a position to get the loan we needed before applying; it was kind of like a pseudo-pre-approval process. Timeframes were very tight (we had 21 days but ended up needing a 2 day extension because the lender had a backlog) and there was a lot of back and forth and gathering of documentation, but in the end, it has all been worth it. Yesterday, we picked up the keys to our very first home. Victor’s advice and support has been invaluable - he knows the lenders, he knows their products and he knows their requirements. Most importantly, he makes the effort to get to know you, and your circumstances, and appropriately match you to the best loan options. He can talk you through the pros and cons of it all, and has a great attention to detail. And for us, he went above and beyond to follow things up with solicitors and banks, even when the process had technically ended for him (thanks Victor!). We would highly recommend working with Victor for property finance, to anyone (he does residential and commercial). He’s really easy to get a hold of and has a transparent approach to his work. Thank you, Victor, for all of your hard work and perseverance with us, and helping make our dream become a reality! Rhiannon and David

Rhiannon W.

06:44 01 Aug 19

I have been working with Victor and his team on and off over the last 8 ½ years now, buying three properties and also helping me with a car loan.Over the years I have found Victor to be very professional and knowledgeable with the services he provides.I am still looking at purchasing more property in the future and Victor will be a part of this journey if he likes it or not.Thank you very much Blackk Finance, Keep up the good work.

les D.

09:02 24 Jun 19

Victor and his team have been helping my wife and I for around 7 years. He impressed us from the start by flying up to Rockhampton to meet us and help to structure our loans and lending so that we could buy our dream block of land. The service continued throughout the years with Victor always approachable, friendly and willing to go the extra mile for his clients. An example of this is Victor meeting us at the airport at around 9pm at night so we could get all the documents signed to allow us to settle a property ASAP. The great thing about Victor and his team is that you don't just become a number and fade into the background after a few years. Victor always returns phone calls and has your information to hand when talking to his clients. We are now in our dream home and Victor is still helping us get the best deal possible in regards to lending, combined with great advice on how to structure the loans to get the most out of every dollar. So if you want great service and honest advice then Victor and the team at Blackk are the people for you.

Shane A.

21:16 19 Mar 19

Victor was very helpful from the day we contacted him just to get general information about buying a house. He is very knowledgeable and was always very patient answering all our questions. Victor and his amazing team provided support along the way and after we purchased our house. I would definitely recommend Blackk Finance to all my friends and family!!

Helena S.

09:35 14 Feb 19

My wife and I were looking for a broker after seeing the house we thought it was perfect for us. The right size, price and even street! So we found Blackk Finance when researching online and went to meet Victor. See, we were not just first home buyers but we also had no idea about how mortgages work. To top that, I’ve just started working as self-employed photographer and financial institutions don’t exactly love that.After reviewing our situation, Victor said we could try it but it would be complicated so we went ahead and made an offer for the property. A few days later our solicitor (who’s amazing and was Victor’s recommendation) had contracts signed and everything was ready and perfect for us to apply for the loan. Victor has lots of contacts and sadly when it was time for us to apply, a little situation started in Australia and the banks got spooked. So there we were, contract signed, first deposit paid, building inspections done and so on, and the banks saying no before we could even apply for a loan - and Victor trying every single magic spell mankind has ever heard of (and some probably only he knows).Day in, day out, Victor tried EVERYTHING. In the end, there was a chance and we decided to go for it, only to see it declined by the banks. While my wife and I were frustrated and sad, Victor has never for a second given up. And for that we are forever thankful. Mind you, this was all happening in the lead up to Christmas and New Years.And this was the 5 star review we were writing even though we didn’t succeed - which was entirely our fault - to Victor Kalinowski, first of his name, wizard of Oz finance and brave restless knight.Anyone could have given up on us and it would be completely understandable. We were a very difficult case and it was a lot of work to even try getting us a loan. Most brokers would probably say “sorry, can’t help, come back in a year when you do this, this and that”, but not him. Instead he was honest and open about our chances and the work it could take, to get everything ready and still receive a no for an answer. And that’s exactly what happened: after trying everything, we accepted the fact we were not buying this house, this time.But then something changed in our situation, a little thing, and I called Victor to tell him. With the same excitement he said that would change everything and we should try. At this stage, time was really against us. For a whole week Victor worked hard to get things done in time.And here we are now, packing our stuff to get ready to move in to our new home.Victor, we cannot thank you enough, I couldn’t just write a review saying “yes he’s the best broker in town” because without explaining what we all went through together, it would be hard to make people understand how much you care and work hard. We know you could have spent your time working with easier clients and yet you haven’t stopped for a second.Thank you thank you thank you,(and Debbie)Bruno and Roberta (and Helga)

Bruno Spotorno D.

07:46 15 Jan 19

My partner and I had been recommended by friends to contact Victor at Blackk Finance for the purchase of our first home. From the initial meet and greet late one evening to the actual purchase / finance of our property the positive experience continued.Victor was more than happy to talk us through all aspects and options available to us, this included understanding our personal circumstances and always maintaining options that would have our best interests first.The process was simple, convenient and we could not meet someone more willing to help and answer questions, giving confidence at every step along the way.We could not recommend Victor and the team enough and without questions would use them again for any future finance requirements.Thank you again for all your assistance and support!Brent & Shoko

Brent M.

12:50 06 Jan 19

I would give Blackk Finance 10 stars if I could. Victor & Debbie were simply amazing!! I personally found purchasing our first home a bit scary but Victor coached us through the whole process and always managed to reassure me. He never seemed annoyed at my endless questions & was very well prepared for everything we threw at him.Thank you for not giving up on us. I know it took us a while but now thanks to you we will be enjoying Christmas poolside in our new home!! We will definitely recommend your services to all our friends and will be back the next time we’re in the market for a new home. 🙂

Christina H.

22:32 20 Dec 18

Victor is extremely approachable, friendly and professional. He instills a confidence in you that he is genuinely making suggestions based solely on your best interests.We felt very looked after by Victor and truly wondered why anyone would even bother looking for finance on their own.Even when freak complications arose, Victor worked very hard to both rectify the situation and continually communicate with us about it.I would wholeheartedly recommend that anybody looking for a home loan speak with Victor immediately.

Gavin H.

01:53 03 Dec 18

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