Purchase Plus Improvements: Buy a Fixer-Upper and Renovate With One Mortgage

You walk into a home with great bones, a rough kitchen, and a price that reflects the work it needs. You can see the potential — but you don’t have $40,000 sitting around for renos on top of your down payment. That’s exactly what a Purchase Plus Improvements mortgage is for.

How it works

Instead of buying the home and scrambling to fund renovations afterward, you roll the cost of the improvements right into your mortgage at purchase. Your lender approves you based on the home’s improved value, and you finance the upgrades at your low mortgage rate — not a credit card or a separate loan.

What it can cover

New kitchen or bathrooms, flooring, windows, a roof, a basement finish — most permanent improvements that add lasting value qualify. It’s built for upgrades that make the home better, not furniture or decor.

How the money flows

You’ll get quotes for the work up front so the improvement amount can be built into your approval. The renovation funds are typically released by your lawyer once the work is completed and verified, so plan to cover the costs briefly before you’re reimbursed — something we’ll map out together in advance.

Why buyers love it

It turns a home that “almost” works into the one you actually want, spreads the cost over your amortization at the lowest possible rate, and often lets you buy in a better location than a move-in-ready home would allow.

Let’s plan your project

Bring me the listing and a rough scope of the work, and I’ll show you how to structure the purchase and the renovation into one clean, affordable mortgage.

Tyler Salmon — Mortgage Agent Level 2 (Ontario & Alberta), License #M21003803. This post is general info, not advice — every file is different, so let’s talk yours through.

Keep reading

Fixed vs. Variable: How to Actually Choose Your Mortgage RateThe Do’s and Don’ts of Mortgage Pre‑Approval in OntarioFirst-Time Home Buyer? The Programs and Rebates You Can Actually Use