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Knock Down Rebuild Finance
Loans to Rebuild on Your Own Land (Gold Coast)
Love your street, but dreaming of a new home? Knock down rebuild finance lets you keep the land, the suburb and the school zone, and rebuild from scratch instead of moving.
It works differently from a standard purchase, because you already own the block. At Go Mortgage, we structure knock down rebuild loans around your existing equity, coordinating the demolition, the build, and the switch to a standard home loan at the end. If you don’t yet own land and need to buy first, our house and land packages guide covers that path instead.
We’re based in Arundel and work with all major insurers, at no cost to you.
Let’s Make Your Homeownership Goals Happen!
Award Winning Mortgage Broker
How Knock Down Rebuild Finance Works
Because you already own the land, there’s no land purchase to fund. A construction loan releases money to your builder in stages (slab, frame, lock-up, fit-out, completion), so you only pay interest on what’s drawn down. Once the build is finished, it converts to a standard principal and interest home loan, the same as any knockdown rebuild mortgage.
For the full staged-payment process, see how construction loans work.
Using Your Equity – How Much Can You Borrow?
Because you’re not buying land, the lender values your project on an “as if complete” basis: your current land value plus the fixed-price building contract, which gives an estimated end value to lend against.
Most lenders will go to around 80% of that value without LMI, or up to roughly 95% with LMI. For example, on a $700,000 “as if complete” value, an 80% lend puts roughly $560,000 to work with, often enough that you won’t need extra cash on top of your equity. You’ll also avoid stamp duty entirely, since there’s no land purchase involved.
See how much you can borrow, access your home equity to see what you’re working with, or estimate your repayments once you’ve got a loan amount in mind.
Demolition, Council Approval and Timeline
Before the builder arrives, budget for demolition, including service disconnections and, in older homes, professional asbestos removal, since anything built before the 1980s is worth having checked.
Most standard rebuilds on the Gold Coast go through as code-assessable or accepted development via a private certifier, which is faster. Larger projects, flood-prone sites, or character areas usually need a full Development Application through council instead, which takes longer.
All up, plan for roughly 8–14 months for the build itself once approvals are through, and budget to rent elsewhere in the meantime – you can’t live in the house while it’s being demolished and rebuilt.
Costs and Contingencies to Plan For
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Demolition and site costs -
Lender establishment and progress-inspection fees
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Rent and holding costs while you build
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Higher insurance once the existing house is demolished
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A 10–15% contingency buffer for variations
How Our Gold Coast Brokers Help with Your Knock Down Rebuild
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Assess your equity and borrowing capacity upfront
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Get you pre-approved before you sign anything with the builder
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Arrange the “as if complete” valuation
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Compare construction loan lenders whose policy suits your builder
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Coordinate the progress draws as the build moves through each stage
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Handle the switch to a standard home loan at completion
Common Knock Down Rebuild Finance Mistakes to Avoid
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Signing the building contract before finance is confirmed
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Underestimating the “as if complete” valuation
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Forgetting rent and holding costs during the build
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Leaving no contingency for cost variations
Let’s Get Your Knock Down Rebuild Finance Moving
Whether you’re still weighing up your options or ready to talk to a builder, getting your finance sorted early makes the whole process smoother.
Call us on 1300 855 244 for a free, no-obligation chat, or get in touch with a Gold Coast mortgage broker to get started online.
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