Renovation loans in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs. Funding for kitchens, bathrooms and extensions, using your equity or increase in value. Shane compares 30+ lenders, gets the structure right, and handles the application personally with $0 brokerage fee.
Why Eastern Suburbs owners renovate instead of moving
Values across Coogee, Randwick, Bronte and Bondi have risen a long way, so there's often more equity in the house than the job would cost. The choice is between spending it on a different house or on this one. Three things usually tip it towards staying.
Moving is the expensive option
Stamp duty on a $3 million Eastern Suburbs purchase comes to roughly $146,000, before you've paid an agent, a conveyancer or a removalist. All of it goes to the transaction rather than into a property.
The equity is already in the house
If you bought in Clovelly or Maroubra even five years ago, the gap between the valuation and the balance is likely bigger than the job you're planning. Shane confirms your available equity with a valuation before you commit to anything.
You keep the location
School catchments, the walk to the beach and the neighbours don't move with you. If the street is the reason you bought, renovating keeps it and moving doesn't.
Four ways to pay for a renovation
The right one depends on the size of the job and how much equity sits behind you. The first two below are the same mechanism, one with your current lender and one with a new one. Shane arranges all four across the Sydney Eastern Suburbs and will tell you which fits before an application goes anywhere.
Increase your existing loan
The usual answer for cosmetic work. If your home has grown in value, that growth is equity you can access, and the money lands in your account before the work starts. One application, one rate, one repayment.
Refinance and release at once
If your rate has drifted, there's no reason to do it in two steps. Shane moves you to a sharper rate and releases the renovation money in the same application, so you're not paying an old rate on a bigger balance.
A staged facility for structural work
Moving walls, adding a storey or extending the footprint puts you in a construction facility. Funds release through progress payments as the work reaches each stage, and you only pay interest on what's been drawn. Usually 12 months rather than the 18 to 24 a new build runs.
Redraw or offset you already have
If you've been paying extra into the loan, part of the budget may already be available to you. No application and no valuation. It's worth checking how your access is set up first, which the redraw guide covers.
Shane also arranges home loans, first home buyer loans, refinancing, investment loans, pre-approval, construction loans, self-employed home loans, debt consolidation and specialist lending.
Cosmetic or structural
Lenders split renovations in two, and the line decides how the money reaches you. It's worth knowing which side you're on before you start getting quotes.
Cosmetic
- Kitchens, bathrooms, floors, paint, decks, landscaping
- Funded as a straight increase to your home loan
- Money released in full at settlement
- Quotes usually only needed above the lender's cash out threshold
Structural
- Removing walls, extensions, second storeys, new footprint
- Funded through a staged construction facility
- Released as progress payments, each stage completed and inspected
- Council approval and a fixed price builder's contract required
A $250,000 kitchen and bathroom job is still cosmetic. A $60,000 wall removal isn't. Cost isn't what decides it.
What renovating looks like around here
The housing stock changes street by street in the Eastern Suburbs, and so does what the finance has to cope with.
Semis and bungalows in Coogee, Clovelly and Randwick
Interwar semis and California bungalows usually need a kitchen, a bathroom and the back of the house opened up. The first two are cosmetic and fund as a simple loan increase. Opening up the rear is structural and moves into a staged facility.
Terraces in Woollahra, Paddington and Waverley
Much of this stock sits in a heritage conservation area, and councils are careful with terrace facades. That affects how long approval takes rather than whether the finance is available. Shane times the application so an approved facility isn't sitting idle while you wait on council.
Art deco and walk-up units near the beaches
Renovating a unit in one of the older Coogee or Bondi blocks usually needs the owners corporation to approve the work first. Lenders will want to see that sign-off before releasing funds for anything structural, so it's worth starting there.
Larger blocks in Maroubra and Kingsford
Post-war brick homes on deeper blocks leave room for a rear extension or a secondary dwelling. Both are structural. A granny flat also changes how a lender views the property's income, so it's worth setting the loan up with that in mind from the start.
Shane is based in Coogee and works across the whole of the Eastern Suburbs. There are suburb pages for Coogee, Randwick, Clovelly, Waverley, Maroubra and Woollahra.
Where a renovation loan is usually set up badly
The term that gets left on default
Renovation money added to a home loan defaults to the remaining 30 year term. At 6.04%, $150,000 over 30 years costs about $903 a month and just over $175,000 in interest. Over a 15 year split it's about $1,269 a month and around $78,000. That's $366 a month buying back roughly $97,000.
One loan doing two jobs
Renovation money and your original mortgage have different useful lives. Shane sets the new money up as its own split, same lender and same rate, so it can run over a shorter term without touching the loan you've already got.
Drawing the lot on day one
On a staged facility you only pay interest on what each progress payment has released. Releasing $150,000 across four stages through the first year costs roughly $3,400 in interest, against about $9,060 if it all comes out at the start.
Mixing purposes on an investment loan
What you spend the money on decides whether the interest stays deductible. Renovating the property the loan is against is fine. Spending it elsewhere leaves you with a mixed purpose loan that has to be apportioned for the rest of its life.
Shane is absolutely amazing. He makes the whole process so seamless and supports you every step of the way. He is honest and very approachable. Would definitely recommend.
You won't find a better Broker in Sydney!! Shane got us the best deal and went well beyond the call of duty to ensure our deal went through without a hitch. Thank you for all your help Shane, we couldn't have done this without you!
Shane has been absolutely amazing. His professionalism and availability at every step made this whole process so much easier. He answered all our 1,000 questions with such patience and expertise, which gave us the confidence to take this big step. We truly recommend him.
Shane's knowledge, expertise, efficiency, communication & customer service is top tier. He was super helpful in explaining things I didn't understand & in a timely manner. Kept us informed at all times as to where our application was at etc. Would definitely recommend. 10/10. Thanks Shane!
I had a great experience working with Shane. He was professional, knowledgeable, and always quick to respond to any questions or concerns I had throughout the process. His communication was excellent, and he made everything straightforward and stress-free. I really appreciated his reliability and dedication, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking for a trustworthy broker.
Finding the right mortgage broker can be daunting, but save yourself the time and go to Shane from Finance Craft. He is experienced, responsive, and patient with all questions. Shane acted promptly to remove any blockers and challenges, ensuring a smooth and stress-free process. He was always available for questions and calls, demonstrating his commitment and dedication, guiding us every step of the way and making the entire experience seamless. We will use his services for future property finance matters. Highly recommended, thanks Shane!
Your renovation finance journey
Work out what is available
Shane checks your current loan, what the place is worth and what your income supports, so you know the budget before an architect draws anything.
Match the structure to the work
Cosmetic or structural, loan increase or staged facility, and whether the renovation money belongs in a split of its own. Shane compares 30+ lenders on rate and on cash out policy, which varies widely between them.
Through to the last progress payment
Shane handles the application, the valuation and, on a staged facility, every progress payment request through to completion. You deal with the builder, he deals with the lender.
Renovation loan FAQs
How do I finance a renovation?
Four ways, and you'll use one of them. Two of them are the same mechanism, a straight increase to your loan, either with your current lender or through a refinance that releases the equity at the same time. The third is a staged facility that pays out through progress payments as the work proceeds. The fourth is spending what you've already paid into the loan, through redraw or offset. I'll tell you which fits before an application goes anywhere.
How much equity can I release to renovate?
Most lenders will lend up to 80% of what your home is worth, less what you already owe, before lenders mortgage insurance is payable. On a $2 million property with a $900,000 loan, that leaves $700,000 of available equity. What you can actually borrow is whatever your income supports, and for most people that's the tighter of the two limits. I'll confirm both before you settle on a budget.
Do I need quotes or council approval?
For smaller amounts, often neither. Lenders release cash out below a threshold without asking what it's for, commonly between $50,000 and $100,000 depending on the lender. Above that you'll need quotes or a scope of works. Structural work needs council approval or a complying development certificate, a fixed price contract with a licensed builder, and the builder's insurances.
Is a renovation loan different from a construction loan?
For cosmetic work, yes. That's a straight increase to your existing home loan and it behaves like any other mortgage. For structural work you'll be in a construction facility. That's the same product covered on the construction loans page, usually over a shorter term because renovations finish faster than new builds.
Will the valuer count the renovation I'm planning?
No. The valuation is done on the property as it stands today, not as it will be once the work is finished. The equity you're borrowing against is the equity you have now. The exception is a construction facility, where the lender usually orders an as-if-complete valuation alongside the current one.
Can I renovate an investment property the same way?
Yes, and the structure matters more. What you spend the money on decides whether the interest stays deductible, so renovating the property that loan is against is fine. Spending it elsewhere leaves you with a mixed purpose loan that has to be apportioned for the rest of its life. I'll set the renovation money up as its own split so the position stays clean for your accountant.
Do you arrange renovation loans across the Sydney Eastern Suburbs?
Yes. I'm based in Coogee and work with clients across Randwick, Clovelly, Bronte, Bondi, Waverley, Maroubra, Paddington, Woollahra and the surrounding suburbs. Local knowledge matters more on renovations than on most lending, because heritage conservation areas, strata approvals and block sizes all change what the lender will want to see.
Thinking about renovating?
Send Shane your loan balance, a rough idea of the value and what you're planning to spend. He'll tell you what's available and how it should be structured, anywhere across the Sydney Eastern Suburbs. $0 brokerage fee.
Your local Sydney Eastern Suburbs broker
Shane specialises in helping clients across Coogee, Clovelly, Bronte, Bondi, and all surrounding Eastern Suburbs.