RENOVATION PATH 01
LIGHT RENOVATION
Smaller eligible improvement scope for an existing, financeable home: up to 10% of property value, or 15% in eligible Duty-to-Serve areas, with a 150-day completion period.
Two renovation paths for eligible improvements to an existing, financeable Idaho home. Projects involving a near-complete gut, major structural reconstruction, demolition, or rebuilding may instead be reviewed as construction-to-permanent.
Idaho's existing housing stock includes properties that need work — dated kitchens, deferred maintenance, outdated layouts. Many buyers walk past these homes because they can't figure out how to finance both the purchase and the renovation at the same time.
Renovation financing solves that problem by wrapping the purchase price and renovation budget into a single mortgage. The appraisal is based on the as-completed value of the improved home, which means you're borrowing against what the property will be worth — not what it looks like today.
The key is matching the project to the right structure. The two renovation paths are for improving an existing, financeable home. A project involving demolition, extensive structural work, or effectively rebuilding the home may instead fit a construction-to-permanent structure.
Light renovation covers a smaller eligible improvement scope: up to 10% of property value, or 15% in eligible Duty-to-Serve areas, with a 150-day completion period. Major renovation supports significant improvements while the home remains a renovation project: up to 75% of property value with up to 420 days to complete. Both paths depend on the property, scope, appraisal, contractor documentation, and current program requirements.
Some projects exceed the scope of renovation financing. If your plans involve a near-complete gut remodel, major structural reconstruction, demolition, or rebuilding a home, we can review whether a construction-to-permanent loan is the more appropriate path. Construction financing is evaluated differently from renovation financing and depends on the property, plans, builder, appraisal, budget, and overall project scope.
The first question is not simply how much the work costs. It is whether the home remains an existing, financeable home being improved—or whether the scope becomes a reconstruction or new-build planning conversation.
Smaller eligible improvement scope for an existing, financeable home: up to 10% of property value, or 15% in eligible Duty-to-Serve areas, with a 150-day completion period.
Significant improvements while the home remains a renovation project: up to 75% of property value, with up to 420 days to complete, subject to the property, appraisal, plans, and program requirements.
If the work changes the project from “improve an existing home” to “reconstruct or build,” start with a construction-planning review. Eligible primary-residence construction may offer up to 95% LTV on standard construction, with lower LTV tiers at higher loan amounts. Builder, appraisal, plans, and project review apply.
A gut remodel, demolition, or tear-down is not advertised as a 95% renovation option; it may be evaluated under a construction-to-permanent path after the project is reviewed.