Bayside Bulletin, Tuesday, November 4, 2008 — 3

RENOVATING or building is agreat way to get your dreamhome. Finance is available -but it’s not quite as straight-forward as a normal homeloan.

RenovationMoving home inevitably

causes a lot of upheaval.There’s not just a new proper-ty to adjust to, but also newschools, new friends; evennew shops and services.Then there are the costs ofselling and buying - often over$50,000.

It’s hardly surprising thatsome people choose not tomove at all, but to renovate.However, although you avoidsome of the upheaval, issues

and expenses involved in buy-ing a new property - like stampduty and conveyancing - thereare still a lot of things to betaken into consideration.

As Smartline AdviserKaren Le Comte explains, interms of finance there is abig difference between cos-metic home improvementsand structural renovations.

“A loan for cosmeticimprovements is usuallystraightforward if the appli-cant has equity in their prop-erty,” says Karen.

Cosmetic improvementscome in the form of re-carpet-ing a home, re-tiling bath-rooms or for instance a freshcoat of paint.

“A loan for structuralimprovements can be morecomplex, especially whenthere is insufficient equity inthe property at the time ofapplication.”

In such cases, the out-come of a loan applicationwill depend on how muchvalue the renovations will beadding to the property.

“This is an area where wecan help in terms of liaisingwith one of our lenders andobtaining a pre-completionvaluation which determinesthe value of a home oncespecified renovations havetaken place,” Karen said.

“A lot of people don’tknow that you can use this

valuation to enhance theequity in your home andmake sure you are not over-capitalizing at the sametime.”

Karen says that the bankslike to see documentation,such as quotes signed bytrades-people, as well asdata that supports whetheror not the enhancements willalso enhance the value of thehome.

“We would all imaginethat renovations wouldenhance the value of a prop-erty but the reality is thatsometimes building fromscratch would do more toensure good capital growthdown the road.”

BuildingIf you are building a new

home, then you will need aconstruction loan. The appli-cation process is differentfrom a traditional home loan,with more documentationrequired - for example, build-ing contracts.

“Although extra docu-ments are needed -as well asprobably a few hundred extradollars, many Australians arestill very keen to be part ofthe Aussie dream by buildinga home exactly as they wantit,” Karen said.

“Nothing compares todesigning and picking outevery last aspect of your newhome.”

The important thing aboutany construction loan isstructuring it so the money isavailable as and when youneed it, so you can covercosts as they come up.

When it comes to yourown budget, remember therewill be additional costs overand above the actual con-struction.

For example, where areyou going to live while con-struction is taking place? Youmay need to factor in the costof renting another home forseveral months - and twosets of moving costs.

The best approach is tocontact on your Smartlineadviser on 3821 2539.

AFTER just over two years in themortgage broking business,

Karen LeComte, of Smartline inCleveland, has swept up a host ofawards at this year’s SmartlineFranchisee Awards, includingFranchise Owner of the Year.

LeComte’s franchise also wonthe Smartline High AchievementAward and was a finalist in theClient Service Award category.

Over the past year, LeComtehas written $85 million worth ofbusiness for her Smartline fran-chise with the help of loansadministrator Michelle Hawkenand customer care manager JulieYoung.

Last year, LeComte was alsoSmartline’s Rookie of the Year

and won the Smartline MarketingChampion and High AchievementAwards.

She then went on to become afinalist in both the Women inBusiness and Australian Mort-gage Association’s Young Gun ofthe Year awards in 2007.

Despite an impressive list ofaccomplishments, LeComte saysit is this year’s awards that signalher greatest achievement todate.

“Having started off at Westpacand remaining there for 20 years,I looked around and realised thatI can be doing the same thing formyself -so I went ahead and didit,” LeComte said.

“It wasn’t hard and since start-

❏ Winners are grinners: The team from Smartline includes Julie Young, franchise owner Karen LeComte and Michele Hawken.

Winners at

SMARTbusiness

Finances for renovating or building your dream home

ing the business in 2006, it’sbeen a snowball of success; Icouldn’t be happier with my teamand client base.”

LeComte says that many of her

clients are now close friends; oneof the benefits of running a busi-ness which effectively helps peo-ple achieve their dream of homeownership.

“It is so satisfying to go onthat journey with someone andsee them in their own home atthe end of it, that’s definitely aperk of the job.”

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