Second mortgage is an option. (two payments)

I don't know if a lender would consider a construction type loan with a refinanced mortgage at the end. (one payment)

I doubt that you will get that list for anywhere near 80K. That is a slightly above average kitchen remodel. Not that laundry list. And unless you have substantial equity in your house for a HELOC, I doubt that you will have anyone talk to you for a loan. You would have to be the smallest and plainest home in a high value neighborhood full of expensive houses, and you would need to be adding square footage in order to bring up the appraisal to cover a loan. HGTV is a lie. You don't spend 100K on a remodel and add 150K in ''value'' to a home. You do get to assume 100K worth of debt. And payment on that debt.

Cash is king. So is DIY ability.

You did not mention how much equity you have in the home or the types of finishes you are planning considering.

Go talk to your bank or credit union. They can advise you about the different options such as cash out refinance, home equity, etc and the different rates and costs.

True, with $150.000 equity we own a little under half of our house right now.

Floor choice is currently wood look tile throughout first floor (1500sqft), we dont know about the second floor (1000sqft) yet.

For the kitchen no relocation of sink/gas/water for fridge, they're supposed to stay where they are. Also no new appliances needed (all bought within the last two years). We have an L-shape with an island (one leg 85"x25" countertop size, other leg 99"x25" and island with sink 37"x116). That makes roughly 62 sqft of countertop space, for which we want to have quartz.

Cabinets are supposed to be white shaker, soft close and under cabinet lighting for the upper cabinets. One thing I do want to have is a farmhouse sink.

Now for the wall tear down: it's not a load bearing wall, however we don't know if there are water lines in this wall.

The windows are supposed to be double pane vinyl windows. We have about 17 windows (small bathroom windows to large living room windows) plus 6 accent windows (no idea what the proper name is) high in the living room wall.

Our estimate of 80k was put together like this:

- 30k for kitchen

- 20k for floors (just first floor, second floor still up for debate)

- 20k windows

- 10k for wall tear down

Are we totally off here? We're both diy affine, so could take on parts of the work (removal of old floor, tearing down wall, if no lines in there, baseboards, taking down and then installing kitchen cabinets, etc)

The thing is, I'm not quiet sure if we should get estimates first and then talk to the bank or go to the bank first and see what financing options we have with which amount.

Thanks all for your input so far and yes, I know that HGTV is not really realistic :)

Wow, $80k? I had my rental home kitchen remodeled this past fall. It's in an upscale in demand location. I removed a non load bearing kitchen wall, changed the footprint, had new electrical, all new shaker style white painted cabinets, granite counter-top and had all the hardwood floors refinished. With my contractors fee included, the total cost me about $27k. Oh, I did remove all the cabinets and old tile backsplash, plus painted to help with my budget. Your numbers are reasonable to me. I would get three estimates from contractors, and definitely check references throughly. You can go to your banking institution to check on what's affordable for you in the interim. It will take your contractors time to write up their quotes. We usually pay cash for any improvements, so it's been one project at a time for us. But, I also totally get why you only want to go through remodeling pain one time. ;-). P.S. Do the wood floors at the same time... you'll wish you had if you don't. P.S.S. Have the contractors price out each part of the project, so if you can't afford all at once, you can choose which parts you can.

Wow Caligirl15, what did you get done in the kitchen for 75k? Did involve a total restructure or "just" cabinets/countertops/sink like my plan is? How big is your kitchen?

lizzierobin, thank you that makes me feel a little better, I guess it really depends where/what/who.
Yes, that's exactly it, we can pay cash for everything if we spread it out over a couple of years, but since all of these are major and it would, for example, make no sense to get new floors before doing the wall breakdown, we want to get it done all in once. The problem is that the floor is the worst at the moment. It's beige carpet nearly everywhere, and with a dog that likes to dig around in the backyard and my husband not being to keen on cleaning paws, it looks like a nightmare (despite having a wet carpet cleaner). This thing has to go.

With 150K equity, subtract 20% so you don't need mortgage insurance. Then you will likely have 80% of that 120K available as a HELOC. 96K available to do that list is too tight for comfort. Unless you also have substantial cash savings for overruns?

You might talk to a couple of local contractors as to how far 80K will get you. Pick your battles. Spending equity on home décor is never a smart move. Learning to DIY some of the projects IS a smart move.

Some of the things you are looking to do - like the replacement windows, can often be financed through the installer. Similarly you can often finance over time for kitchen cabinets/countertops through big box stores. I'm not endorsing this necessarily - I would thoroughly investigate what you end up paying, but it's an option.

@ SopieWheeler :
For what we are wanting to do, what would you budget for kitchen/floors/windows/wall tear down? I know it's hard without having specifics, but just a really rough estimate based on what I listed above?
I'm asking because you said it's all super tight, with researching of cost I cannot see it, but might be missing something since I'm obviously not a pro.
Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi Britta, the scope of work on my kitchen is much more than cabinets and countertops. It includes lead paint removal, upgrading electrical and plumbing, shortening a window, removing a small non-load bearing wall--the whole space ended up being gutted. I'm also in a high cost of living area The finishes I'm choosing are on the lower end.

I'm not saying that your kitchen would cost $75K or that $30K is impossible, just that $30K seems like a small budget. There are so many factors involved though, you'll definitely need input from your local contractors as to how far your money will go. Good luck!

To your original question:

Yes, there is HELOC or HEL financing available from lenders for your remodel. Or you could apply for a rehab type loan You do need to qualify for it. The lender usually sends out an appraiser to determine the current AS IS value and the new value with the improvements. As pointed out, not all improvements will result in additional value for the lender's purposes.

If you plan to stay in your home for an extended period of time, that is when the improvements make the most sense because you will get your use out of them over time.

I have found that credit unions and small regional lender's are a very good resource for this type of financing. What you don't want to do is over-improve your home for the neighborhood.

Agree with the above - you are asking the $80k to go a long way. It isn't likely to go that far. You would need quotes from your contractor anyway to supply to any lender for a rehab loan so you may as well get quotes so you know how much you need and what it will cover (realistically).