Renovate or Upgrade

You’ve been a home owner already so you have a good sense of what you can manage from one month to the next. For many of us, buying a new home means moving into a more expensive home – that’s why we call it an upgrade! If you’re going bigger with your new home, make sure you don’t go bigger than you can afford. Look at your current budget and come up with a maximum amount you’re willing to spend. Our mortgage calculator will help you get to this number, and remember just because we’ll lend it, doesn’t mean you need to spend it.

When renovating, start your project by looking at your budget. Balance the work you want to do against the amount you have available to spend. Think about how much money you can take out of savings, and consider how much loan repayment you can add to your monthly budget. If you need help, we’re here. Give our Contact Centre a call at info@alphaguarantees.com.

If you’re getting a new Alpha Guarantee BankEQ to pay for home renovations or take out a mortgage for another property, you’ll need to have your home appraised in most cases. The appraisal shows us exactly how much your home is worth under current market conditions, and that determines how much we can lend you.

If you’re selling your house privately – maybe to a friend or a family member – and you don’t have a realtor involved, an appraisal can help you come to the right selling price.

Yes! This is actually a great way to avoid prepayment penalties when you sell your home. You can carry your current mortgage contract over to the new home – we call this ‘porting’. If the new home has a higher value and your mortgage loan increases, you don’t pay a prepayment penalty at all. If your new home’s worth less money and your mortgage loan decreases, you pay a penalty only on the difference between the two mortgage amounts.