Construction Loans Chifley

A standard construction loan funds a home built under a single contract on land you already own, with the lender releasing money at each finished stage rather than handing over the full amount on day one of the entire build.

House and land packages split the borrowing into two loans, one settling the land itself and a second funding the build contract, so any first home grant entitlement gets claimed at the correct stage and each security stays separately documented.

Knockdown rebuilds on Chifley's post-war blocks need finance that pays out any existing mortgage, funds demolition once council approval lands, then releases progress payments as the house rises, three phases many lenders handle clumsily unless the loan is arranged deliberately.

Buying vacant land first means two separate approvals, often months apart, and the right facility holds the block cheaply on interest only while you finalise plans, then converts to the construction facility without any refinancing or paying application fees twice.

Owner builder finance is the hardest variant to place because lenders see unlicensed self-management as risk, so expect a smaller pool of willing lenders, stricter supervision of draws, independent valuation at every stage and a lower borrowing ceiling against cost.

Renovations needing council approval behave like mini construction projects, with funds released against inspected milestones rather than paid upfront, and older brick homes here frequently hide surprises once walls open, so the loan must carry a contingency buffer built in.

Interest is charged only on funds actually drawn, which is the advantage of construction lending: while the slab alone has been paid, you pay interest on the slab portion, not the whole approved limit, keeping early monthly commitments noticeably lighter.

Paying rent and construction interest together is the hardest stretch of any build, so budget for both commitments side by side and confirm your household income genuinely services the combined figure before you ever sign a build contract with anyone.

Contingency buffers of roughly ten per cent of contract price sound cautious until a slab needs extra piers or asbestos fibro turns up behind a 1950s bathroom, both seen locally, and a lender funding no buffer leaves you borrowing desperately.

Builds stretch, and every extra month on site costs you interest, rent and sometimes a variation charge from the builder, so a timeline of twelve to eighteen months, not the six months brochures suggest, should sit within your serviceability arithmetic.

Your Mortgage Broker Chifley manages your build finance personally from your first conversation to the final draw and beyond, one named, accountable person reachable on direct contact, and every recommendation is one we would accept for our own family's project without exception.

Panel lending matters most in construction because credit policies differ more here than anywhere: one bank might decline an owner builder while another accepts the identical file, so we compare across the panel rather than defaulting to a single institution.

Most borrowers pay us nothing: we are generally paid a commission by the lender you choose, disclosed in writing before you commit, and our published fee structure explains exactly when and why any direct fee could apply, which is rarely.

Process comes before product on every file, meaning we map your drawdown schedule, contingency and timeline before recommending any loan, because the right construction facility for a knockdown rebuild differs from the right one for a house and land package.