Here’s how a construction loan works

• First you’ll need to get a valuation done to estimate how much the home will be worth when it’s completed.
• We’ll review the valuation and let you know how much you can borrow, and once you’ve set up a contract with your builder, will make each payment directly (with your deposit being used first).
• As the building begins, the construction loan is paid in agreed stages. Your contract with the builder may set out how much is paid at each stage, and the building will need to be inspected and certified at each stage to say the work has been done (and therefore has a certain value at that stage). If you’re borrowing quite a lot of money you may even need to get interim valuations done by a registered valuer.
• During the project you only pay interest on the money already drawn down, and you don’t start repaying the loan itself until the project is finished. A construction loan is usually on a floating interest rate.