Before & After: a RenoFi-powered renovation in Villanova

Original Home

• Location: Villanova, PA
• Built in 1958
• 2,768 sq. ft.
• 5 beds, 3.5 baths

Original value:

$780,000

The Renovation

• Additional ~350 sq. ft.
• Transform 3rd floor into full Master Suite
• Redo the back porch with fire pit & add new front porch
• Total Cost: $256,000

After renovation value:

$900,000

The Problem

When DJ and his wife, Vanessa, found RenoFi, they were just about to close on a traditional construction loan, having accepted the fact that they would need to refinance their first mortgage — which would also mean additional closing costs and higher interest rates — to do their home renovation. What they didn’t know at the time was that meeting RenoFi would result in a home renovation loan product that would eventually save them $119k in future interest payments because it didn’t require them to refinance at all.

From the moment DJ & Vanessa bought their home almost 2 years ago, they knew they wanted to renovate. “We found this home in Villanova and we loved it because of the cul-de-sac and a lot of young families with young kids,” DJ explained. “We spoke to other people on our street who also did renovations, and they reassured us that we weren’t going to find a community like this anywhere else.”

DJ & Vanessa were optimistic they could make this home into one they loved. After all, the alternative was paying $1 million+ for the right home in the wrong Villanova neighborhood. And with 5 other bids from buyers on the property they wanted, timing was key. What they needed was a loan that allowed them to purchase the new home first, then handle the loan process after settlement in order to stay competitive against other buyers. And thanks to RenoFi’s home renovation loan, that’s exactly what they found.

The Project

As an outdated 1950’s split-level without much curb appeal, there are multiple parts to their renovation plans:

1. Outside:
2. Add a new front porch to overlook cul-de-sac
3. Redo the back porch and expand to include fire pit
4. Inside:
5. Turn the 2 bedrooms, bathroom and attic space on the third floor into a full Master Suite with office, book nook with built-in shelves, additional closets and stairwell to a new attic space off the 2nd floor
6. Blow out the traditional split-level stairwell and create an open banister style staircase

Their three young children were the motivation behind a lot of their home renovation plans. A new front porch, for example, would make it easy for DJ and Vanessa to watch them play with the neighbors across the cul-de-sac. Their home improvement goals for the third level were all about function. With a funky layout of small rooms, wasted attic space and very minimal storage/closets, by blowing out all the walls, they’re looking to create a much more usable space.

“It’s just so much easier and more enjoyable to be in the house now; the ability to have a space that we envisioned when we bought the house.” DJ explained. “Our Master Bedroom gives us and the kids their own space, while the backyard is much more usable; we’re out there all the time. Same with our front yard. This is the largest home I’ve ever lived in and to have this much space with such a beautiful structure is unbelievable to us.”

The Financing

When starting such a major undertaking of finding a loan for the scale of their home improvement project with no previous experience in these types of loans, DJ & Vanessa didn’t realize how hard it would be to find one. DJ spent 6 months making phone calls to bank after bank, learning about their fees, monthly payments, and interest rates, trying to figure out how do we do this?

“It’s really confusing to try and finance construction on a home. No one tells you what to do. Loan officers just say we have this and here’s the interest rate. And we knew they weren’t good, but you don’t really know what questions to ask. It’s just not an expertise most homeowners have, so it’s time-consuming… and can be scary too.

“I wish we would’ve found RenoFi earlier. Honestly, the process was a lot longer than it needed to be because we really had no idea what we were looking for. RenoFi put together a program of experts that’s just an incredible resource for homeowners.”

From there, the construction process went just as smoothly — largely thanks to the thorough general contractor vetting process that DJ & Vanessa undertook. And while their choice wasn’t the cheapest option, he was the right one.

Advice For Renovators

DJ recommends all homeowners doing a home renovation interview at least 3 contractors and really look at them side-by-side. “We interviewed 4-5 general contractors, and got recommendations. There were cheaper quotes, but when we compared the plans directly, we could see huge gaps. This guy took everything into account, and he really knew his stuff. We walked through two of the other houses he had done on our block to see his work. He made us feel very comfortable.”

DJ also has some tips for saving money (in addition to the lower interest rates homeowners using our home renovation loans enjoy). And it involves communicating with your contractor when buying all those dream home wish-list items. “Work with your general contractor to leverage their discounts. We were able to go out and buy the things we really wanted and still ended up coming in under our GC’s budget because we found them for cheaper than we planned. This allowed us to go even nicer than we envisioned on some features.”

Not only were they under budget when all their home improvements were said and done, but their renovation project finished on time too. “Everything went so smoothly. RenoFi made it so easy for us from the start. The team prepped us on everything we needed to get together and it was all submitted electronically. We never once went to the bank to meet with our loan officer. And we were very lucky we had a great architect and contractor throughout the process.

“All you start with is blueprints and just kinda hope it will turn out like you envisioned. Having this idea and actually seeing it come together piece by piece; to see the progression and transformation is the most fun part. And then when it’s finished - it’s like holy cow. People come over, and say, ‘this is unbelievable.’ Everything just exceeded our expectations.”

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