Ways to pay for your kitchen, bath, or remodel
A good project should not have to wait for the whole budget to be sitting in the bank. Here are the common ways Ocala homeowners fund remodeling work, including a way to compare real loan offers in a couple of minutes without touching your credit score.
You are on the remodeling page. If you want the full picture of every way homeowners pay for construction work, start at our financing overview.
Remodeling an existing home
Kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, aging-in-place work, single rooms, and most projects under roughly $100,000.
See how it worksBuilding something new
A custom home on your lot, a detached ADU, a large multi-room addition, or a down-to-studs renovation. Those use construction loans that pay out in stages.
Go to construction loansVeteran or active duty
VA financing has its own rules for buying, building, and renovating, and it is worth understanding before you pick a path.
Go to VA loan optionsWe build. Lenders lend. We help you line them up.
To be clear up front: we are your contractor, not a lender or a financial advisor. What we can do is help you understand the common ways to fund a project and give you the clear written scope and pricing a lender will want to see. The actual loan, its rate, and its terms come from the lender you choose, and you should compare offers.
Most homeowners we work with are not short on the whole budget. They are deciding whether to pull from savings, tap equity they have built up, or spread the cost over a few years so they can keep their cash where it is. All three are reasonable. What follows is a plain description of each so you can decide before you sit down with us.
Acorn Finance, our home improvement loan partner
Acorn Finance is a financing marketplace, not a lender. You fill out one short form and it shows you real pre-qualified offers from a network of lenders, so you can compare rate, monthly payment, and term side by side instead of applying at four different banks and collecting four hard inquiries along the way.
Checking does not affect your credit score
Pre-qualification uses a soft credit pull. A hard inquiry only happens later, if you choose a lender and decide to move forward with them.
It takes a couple of minutes
The form is entirely online and you can do it from your phone. Offers come back right away rather than days later.
No home equity required
These are unsecured personal loans, so there is no appraisal, no title work, and no lien placed against your house.
You see the whole picture at once
Sort by interest rate, by monthly payment, or by term length. Whichever number matters most to your budget is the one you can sort on.
The money goes to you
Funds are sent to you, not to us. You pay us on the normal schedule written into your contract, exactly as you would if you were paying from savings.
We are not paid for this
We receive no fee, commission, or markup when you use Acorn. It is offered because it saves you an afternoon of rate shopping, not because it earns us anything.
See what you pre-qualify for
Loan amounts generally run up to $100,000 with terms up to 12 years, depending on the lender and your credit profile. Rates, amounts, terms, and eligibility are set by the lenders in the network, not by us.
Where a home improvement loan fits, and where it does not
Unsecured home improvement loans are excellent for the size of project we do most often. They are the wrong instrument for a ground-up build, and it is better to know that before you apply rather than after.
Good fit
- Kitchen remodels, including layout changes and new cabinetry
- Bathroom remodels and tub-to-shower conversions
- Aging-in-place work such as walk-in showers, grab bars, and widened doorways
- Flooring, interior finishes, and single-room updates
- Phased projects where you want to do the kitchen now and the primary bath next year
- Homeowners who have equity but would rather not borrow against the house
Better handled another way
- Building a new home on your lot. See construction loans.
- A detached ADU or a large multi-room addition
- Whole-home renovations that run well past six figures
- Projects where you want the cost rolled into your mortgage rather than carried as a separate payment
- Anything requiring staged draw funding tied to inspections
Figure out what it costs before you borrow
Borrowing a round number you picked because it sounded about right is how projects end up underfunded halfway through. We publish real cost ranges for the work we do most, which most contractors around here will not do. Read the guide that matches your project, then go get offers against a number you trust.
Kitchen remodel cost in Ocala
What kitchens actually run here by tier, and where the money goes. Read the cost guide
Bathroom remodel cost in Ocala
Full bath and primary bath ranges, plus what drives the number up. Read the cost guide
Kitchen remodel cost in The Villages
Villages-specific pricing, including Sumter County permitting. Read the cost guide
Tub to shower conversion cost
One of the most common aging-in-place projects we do, priced out. Read the cost guide
What we give you to take to a lender
Lenders do not fund vague ideas. They fund defined projects. Everything below comes standard with our free estimate, at no cost and with no obligation to hire us. If you want to see the work behind the paperwork first, our reviews and project gallery are a fair place to start.
Fund it however you like. We build it the same way.
However you pay, the work is done by a licensed contractor, which matters more than most homeowners realize. Here is why licensing matters. Verify CBC1268994 on MyFloridaLicense.com before hiring anyone, including us.
Common questions
Do you offer financing directly?
We are the contractor, not a lender. We can point you toward common financing paths and third-party programs, and give you the written scope and pricing a lender needs, but the loan and its terms come from the lender you choose.
Will checking my options hurt my credit score?
Pre-qualifying through Acorn Finance uses a soft credit pull, which does not affect your credit score. A hard inquiry only occurs later, after you select a lender and choose to proceed with a full application. That is why comparing several offers up front costs you nothing.
How much can I borrow for a remodel?
Through a home improvement loan marketplace, amounts generally run up to $100,000 with terms up to 12 years, though what you personally qualify for depends on the lender, your credit, and your income. Larger projects usually move to home equity, a renovation loan, or construction financing instead.
Do I need home equity to finance a remodel?
Not for an unsecured home improvement loan. Those are based on your credit and income rather than your equity, which means no appraisal, no title work, and no lien against your house. Home equity products are a separate path and often carry lower rates, so it is worth comparing both.
What do I need from you to apply for a loan?
Usually a clear written scope of work and a price, which we provide as part of our proposal. Different lenders ask for different things, so check with yours, and we will supply our license and insurance documentation on request.
Is home equity or a home improvement loan better?
It depends on your equity, your current mortgage, rates, and the project size. Equity products often cost less but put a lien on the home and take longer to close. Unsecured loans close faster and leave the house alone. We are not financial advisors, so compare both with a lender, but we are glad to make sure your scope and pricing are ready for whichever you pick.
Can I finance a new home build or an ADU this way?
No. Ground-up construction and detached ADUs are funded with construction loans that release money in stages as the build progresses, which works completely differently from a lump-sum home improvement loan. Our construction loans page explains that process.
Can veterans use VA financing for remodeling?
There are VA-related options for certain projects. We cover this in more depth on our VA loan options page, and you should confirm eligibility and terms with a VA-approved lender.
Important disclosures
Florida Legacy Construction LLC is a Florida certified building contractor, license number CBC1268994. We are not a lender, a mortgage broker, a mortgage loan originator, or a financial advisor. We do not originate loans, take applications, quote rates or terms, make credit decisions, or provide financial, tax, or legal advice.
Acorn Finance is an independent third-party financing marketplace and is not a lender. All loan offers, rates, fees, terms, amounts, and eligibility requirements are set by the lenders in its network and are subject to credit approval and to change without notice. Loan amounts and terms described on this page are general figures published by the marketplace, not an offer to you. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit, a commitment to lend, or a guarantee of approval.
PrimeLending, a PlainsCapital Company, NMLS #13649, is an independent third party. Equal Housing Lender. For licensing information go to www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
You are free to select any lender or financing source you choose. Using any lender or program mentioned here is not a condition of doing business with Florida Legacy Construction, and our pricing is the same regardless of how you pay.
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