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oldbrownhouse

Short $30k at end of Foundation / Remodel Project

oldbrownhouse
14 years ago

We're close to wrapping up a massive build-out / remodel / foundation project and are out of loan money, trying to figure out our options.

We've got two mortgages out. We borrowed less than we wanted, mainly because we were signing our loan docs in the fall of '07, right when all the lending was tightening up. We re-negotiated with our two contractors to adjust for the decreased amount of cash we would have on hand.

But then the roof completely failed during foundation leveling. And we found some more dry rot. And the city wanted fire sprinklers. And the utility wanted $10k for a gas line.

Talking to both of our lenders, they want us in the house before they'll consider refinancing -- their definition of remodel vs. reconstruction is whether or not the house is occupied.

Anyhow, a couple of key items need to be wrapped up before we can occupy, including exterior railings, stucco, fire sprinkler, gas, and drywall. We were planning all along to take occupancy after that point, finishing the interior, exterior & landscaping ourselves.

With the banks saying "no more dinero," and us needing to spend ~$30k to move in, we have a few options:

- tap down-on-the-market retirement and already depleted savings accounts, which we would rather keep in tact as a emergency reserves

- run up the credit cards and work to pay them off (or roll in to a new mortgage)

- borrow from (???) as an unsecured loan (fine, but from whom?)

Anybody else in a similar situation in this down economy with advice?

Just to be clear, financially we're not up against a wall or in over our heads. The existing mortgages are leaving us plenty of money left over for the other work to get done in a pay-as-we-go fashion. And the sooner we can move in, that's another thousand bucks in our pocket monthly. But we need to get this money now so we can get moved in and refinanced.

I'm thinking credit cards are easiest, but I'd hate for two maxxed-out Visa accounts to affect our credit score when refiancing the home.

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