Large Renovation Old House Over Budget - Financing

We're in the middle of a large renovation of an old house and have hit multiple structural issues to the point that we've used up our contingency (about 1K left).

The project is now likely to run about 20K over what we have funds and mortgage approval for.

It's 66% self-funded with the remainder of the funds coming from a top-up mortgage which we are in the process of drawing down over the next few weeks.

We'll need to secure the remaining 20K (approx) to complete the project, we've cut the scope of the project as much as we can (e.g. no longer doing an attic renovation, switching from triple to double-glazed windows and more).

What's the best way to finance the remainder of the project? Should we wait until the initial mortgage is secured and then ask mortgage provider for the remaining funds?

I'm inclined to wait until as late as possible to that we have greater certainty in the amount we'll need to complete the project.

Alternatively should we investigate bank / credit union loan options for the remaining amount which is like going to cover our kitchen?

It's a retrofit so we should qualify for green loans for the retrofit portion of the build also.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Hi,

Do you have a contract signed with a builder? Is the portion of funding you need to secure for fixtures and fittings and not under the building contract i.e. the kitchen?

I don't think you can go back to the bank and ask for more under the same application. At least from my recent experience.

I think you should look at the timings of payments needed in the coming months along side your monthly outgoings to see if you can bridge the gap.

Alternative funding options

1. ask bank on current top up
2. Personal loan
3. Credit card (draw down as cash)
4. Mortgage options i.e. BOI allow 3 month payment break

My assumption would be for credit cards / extra debt it's just a short term liquidity issue and future savings would pay it off.

Thanks. The other option is to fund the retrofit items with a Green loan over 10 years. Would need to wait until the initial mortgage funds come through and the retrofit part of the build is due to start soon enough.