Money for home renovation?

Posted: Wed, Dec 01 2010, 10:21 pm Post subject: money for home renovation?

We bought a house that needs to be renovated and we don't have the money upfront for renovation. Does anyone know of a place that lends large amounts of money in the NY area?

Diamond Member Joined: Mar 08 2010 Posts: 2535

you want a bank? a gemach?
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Posted: Thu, Dec 02 2010, 1:15 am Post subject: re: money for home renovation?

A gemach? Or a wealthy person who lends?

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48156

You can take a home equity loan, or have your mortgage refinanced.

Diamond Member Joined: Dec 28 2005 Posts: 4661

I'm guessing that with a newly purchased home she does not have much equity to take out (which is needed for a HELOC or refinance).

OP, I imagine the renovations you want to do are not REQUIRED for safe living in your home (if so, you probrably would have made sure you could make it work before purchasing). I would hold off and save up in the meantime, build some equity in the home, etc. Our kitchen was in poor condition when we bought our home, but I waited 4 years to have it (modestly) redone. We saved up some and took out a home equity line of credit for the rest...which was b"H all paid off 10 months later.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48156

It's pretty hard to get loans now. Maybe OP can save some money and get a loan in a few years, when things are better. The home can't be in such poor shape or the bank would not have been able to grant a mortgage.

Posted: Fri, Dec 03 2010, 12:53 am Post subject: re: money for home renovation?

The house is actually in pretty lousy shape. Much of it is livable. The kitchen is useless because it has two cabinets and one sink only, and it's too small to fit much more than that. For it to be functional, some work has to be done. The bathrooms, besides being nauseating, do not have enough space between the sink and bathtub to give baths comfortably. The floors upstairs do not exist - it's called an underfloor. The bank did make us put a carpet in one of the rooms, so we bought the cheapest carpet to put down. And there is no door to the backyard. The only way to get out is through the unfinished basement, by pushing up some metal opening overhead to climb out, so at some point we need a door.
We only plan on doing these basics.
Why did we buy a house like this? First of all, it was a very good price. Second of all, it was actually in better condition than most of the houses we've seen. Here in NY in the area I live, there aren't too many choices and almost all houses I've seen needed more renovation, like holes in the ceiling, roof, etc.