Financing, framed honestly
We are builders, not bankers. But after seventeen years of budget conversations, we can at least make the lender meeting less mysterious. Illustrative demo content; nothing here is financial advice or an offer of credit.
Monthly numbers, said out loud
Most Wrenhouse families fund larger projects through home equity, and the honest way to think about a remodel is the way you think about a mortgage: as a monthly figure alongside the value it adds. We are not a lender, but we will help you frame the conversation with yours.
The three common paths
Home equity (the most common). A home equity line or loan borrows against the value your house already holds, usually at better rates than anything unsecured, and the remodel typically adds value back. Most Wrenhouse families fund tier two and three projects this way, often pairing savings for the design phase with equity for construction.
Cash flow plus savings. Tier one projects are frequently funded outright. The design phase helps here too: because selections are priced early, you know the real number months before construction, which is exactly the runway a savings plan needs.
Construction-specific products. Renovation loans that lend against the post-project value exist for larger reworkings, and they want exactly what our Refine phase produces: fixed drawings, a fixed proposal, and a firm schedule. Lenders like our paperwork. It is very complete.
Questions worth asking any lender: What is the rate and is it fixed? What are the closing costs? How fast can funds draw against a construction schedule? Is there a penalty for finishing early? Bring the answers to your Refine meetings and we will build the payment schedule around them.
Do you offer financing yourselves?
No, deliberately. We are not a lender, we do not take referral fees from lenders, and we would rather you shop the money the way you shopped the builder. What we provide is the paperwork lenders love: fixed proposals, published schedules, and draw-ready invoicing.
When in the process should we talk to a lender?
Early in the design phase. You want your realistic borrowing range before selections begin, so the design is refined toward a number the money can actually reach. It is a ten-minute call that prevents a ten-thousand-dollar redesign.
How do payments to Wrenhouse work?
A deposit at contract, then progress payments tied to published construction milestones, never to the calendar. You pay for chapters as they complete, and the final payment waits for your punch list, not ours.
Bring your budget questions first.
The first conversation is exactly where money questions belong. We will give you real ranges and a straight answer about what your budget can reach.