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Paying For Your Project

Remodel Now, Pay Over Time

No credit check on this page Milestone draw schedule Fixed-price contract first Free design consultation

A remodel is one of the largest purchases most homeowners ever make, and almost nobody writes a single check for it. This page lays out the ways Vancouver and Portland-area homeowners actually pay for the work — what each option costs, what it puts at risk, and who each one suits — plus a calculator that shows the monthly payment before you talk to anybody.

Estimate My Payment (360) 836-7775
Monthly Payment Calculator

What would the payment actually be?

Move the three sliders and the numbers update instantly. Nothing is submitted, no credit is pulled, and no email is required — the math runs in your browser. Use it to find the project size that fits your monthly budget, then work backwards to a scope.

Build your payment

Standard amortized loan — equal payments, principal and interest.

$45,000

The total you would borrow. If you are putting cash down, enter only the financed portion.

$5,000$200,000
10 years

Longer terms lower the monthly payment and raise the total interest. Watch both numbers in the panel beside this one.

2 years30 years
8.50%

Your rate depends on the product, your credit, and the market on the day you lock. Secured options such as a HELOC price lower than unsecured loans; enter a rate a lender has actually quoted you if you have one.

0%24%
Estimated payment

$558/mo

$45,000 over 10 years at 8.50% APR.

Amount financed
$45,000
Total interest
$21,952
Total of payments
$66,952
Number of payments
120
Get A Fixed-Price Bid

For illustration only. Not a loan offer, pre-qualification, or commitment to lend. Serden Group LLC is a general contractor, not a lender. Actual rates, terms, fees, and eligibility are set by your lender.

Two Ways To Pay

Save up, or start now?

Neither answer is wrong. It depends on how long the wait would be, what the delay costs you, and how much of your savings you are willing to put into the walls.

Paying cash

Wait and pay outright

  • No interest, ever. The cheapest possible way to buy a remodel, full stop.
  • The wait is the cost. Saving $45,000 at $800 a month takes nearly five years, and you live with the old kitchen for all of it.
  • Construction costs keep moving. Material and labor pricing has not waited for anyone in recent years. A project quoted today may not be quoted the same in three years.
  • Emergency fund pressure. Draining reserves to fund a remodel leaves nothing for the furnace that fails in February.
  • Scope creep in reverse. Cash budgets often force a phased project, which means mobilizing a crew, permits, and dust protection twice.
Financing

Start now, pay monthly

  • The project happens this year. You use the space you paid for instead of waiting to earn it.
  • Savings stay liquid. Your reserves keep doing their job while the loan funds the work.
  • Full scope in one mobilization. One permit cycle, one crew, one disruption — usually cheaper than doing it in two phases.
  • Interest is the price. $45,000 over 10 years at 8.5% costs roughly $22,000 in interest. That is a real number worth sitting with.
  • It is a monthly obligation. A payment you can comfortably carry for the whole term, not just the first year.
Your Options

Five ways to borrow — and one way not to

We do not originate loans and we earn nothing on the option you choose, which means this comparison has no thumb on the scale. The terms below are general market context as of 2026, not offers — your bank or credit union sets the real numbers.

Home equity loan

Secured

A second mortgage: you borrow a lump sum against the equity you already have, at a fixed rate, over a fixed term. The most common way large remodels get funded in Clark and Multnomah counties, and usually the lowest-cost route if you have the equity.

Typical rate
Lower than unsecured — the house is the collateral
Term
5–30 years, fixed payment throughout
Best for
A known, fixed scope where you want one predictable payment
Watch for
Appraisal and closing costs, 2–6 week timeline, and a lien on your home

HELOC

Secured

A revolving line against your equity that you draw from as the project progresses, paying interest only on what you have actually drawn. It pairs naturally with a milestone draw schedule — you pull funds as each phase comes due rather than carrying the whole balance from day one.

Typical rate
Usually variable — it moves with the index
Term
Draw period around 10 years, then a repayment period
Best for
Phased work, or a scope with genuine unknowns behind the drywall
Watch for
Rate changes mid-project, and the payment jump when the draw period ends

Cash-out refinance

Secured

Replace your existing mortgage with a larger one and take the difference in cash. Powerful when your current rate is already at or above market, and rarely worth it when you are sitting on a low legacy rate you would be giving up.

Typical rate
Mortgage rates — but applied to your whole balance
Term
Resets the clock, commonly to 15 or 30 years
Best for
Large whole-home projects when today's rate beats your current one
Watch for
Full closing costs, and losing a below-market rate you can never get back

Home improvement loan

Unsecured

An unsecured personal or contractor-channel loan underwritten on your credit and income rather than your equity. Rates run higher than secured options, but approval is often same-day or next-day, there is no appraisal, and no lien touches your property.

Typical rate
Higher — nothing secures it but your credit
Term
2–15 years, fixed payment
Best for
Thin equity, newer homeowners, or a project that has to start now
Watch for
Origination fees, and prepayment terms — ask in writing

Promotional-rate credit card

Unsecured

A 0% introductory or deferred-interest offer can genuinely beat every option on this page — on a small project, and only if the balance is gone before the promotional window closes. Deferred-interest offers can charge back interest on the full original amount if any balance remains.

Typical rate
0% during the promo, then a high standard APR
Term
Promotional windows commonly 6–21 months
Best for
Smaller projects you can clear inside the promotional period
Watch for
Deferred interest, credit-limit caps, and the cliff at the end of the promo

Our milestone draw schedule

No lender

Not a loan and not credit — simply how every Serden Group contract is structured. You pay in stages tied to defined milestones as work is completed, not in one lump sum up front. For a meaningful share of our clients this is the only "financing" the project needs.

Cost
No interest and no fees — it is your contract, not a loan
Structure
Deposit, then progress payments at defined phases, then final payment at walkthrough
Best for
Homeowners with cash flow to cover the project across its timeline
Watch for
Nothing hidden — every amount and milestone is written into the agreement before we start
The Right Order

Scope first, then borrow

The most expensive mistake in remodel financing is getting approved for a round number and then designing a project to fill it. Do it the other way around.

Step One

Get a real number

Book a free design consultation. We measure, listen, and put a fixed-price scope in writing — not a range, and not a per-square-foot guess. That document is what you take to a lender, and it costs you nothing to obtain.

Step Two

Shop the money

Take that number to your bank, your credit union, and one online lender. Compare APR and total interest over the full term, not the monthly payment. Ask about origination fees, prepayment penalties, and whether the rate is fixed or variable.

Step Three

Line up funding and schedule

Once funding is in place we build the draw schedule around it, so payments come due as phases complete and your loan or line disburses. Then the crew starts, with one project manager on your job from demolition to walkthrough.

Important disclosures

Serden Group LLC is a licensed general contractor (Washington L&I # SERDEGL826PD, Oregon CCB # 239429). We are not a lender, mortgage broker, or financial advisor, we do not originate, arrange, or service loans, and we receive no commission or referral fee on any financing you obtain. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit, a pre-qualification, or a commitment to lend by anyone.

The calculator is a standard amortization formula applied to the values you enter. It is for illustration only. It does not include origination fees, closing costs, appraisal fees, points, taxes, or insurance, and it assumes a fixed rate and equal monthly payments for the full term — assumptions that do not hold for variable-rate products such as most HELOCs. Rate and term ranges described above are general market context as of 2026, not quotes.

All credit products are subject to lender approval and underwriting. Your actual rate, term, fees, borrowing limit, and eligibility are determined solely by the lender you apply with, and approval is never guaranteed. Loans secured by your home place a lien on the property and put your home at risk if you do not repay. For guidance specific to your situation, consult a licensed lender, a mortgage professional, or a financial advisor.

Questions about how payments work on a Serden Group project? Contact us or call (360) 836-7775 — and see our terms and conditions for contract details.

Questions

Financing questions, answered

No. Serden Group LLC is a licensed general contractor, not a lender, and we do not originate loans or earn a commission on any loan you take out. What we do offer is a milestone draw schedule written into your contract, so you pay for the project in stages as work is completed rather than all at once up front. If you need to borrow, you arrange that directly with a bank, credit union, or lender of your choosing, and this page explains the options so you can compare them.
For most homeowners with equity, a home equity loan or HELOC carries the lowest interest rate because the loan is secured by the house. Unsecured home improvement loans cost more but close faster and put no lien on the property. A promotional zero-percent credit card can be the cheapest option of all for a small project, but only if the balance is fully paid before the promotional period ends, otherwise deferred interest can apply to the original purchase amount. The cheapest option on paper is not always the right one, so compare the total interest over the full term, not just the monthly payment.
Most lenders will let you borrow up to a combined loan-to-value of roughly 80 to 85 percent of your home’s appraised value, including your existing mortgage. On a $600,000 home with a $300,000 mortgage, that often means somewhere around $180,000 to $210,000 of accessible equity. Every lender sets its own limits and credit requirements, and an appraisal determines the value they will work from, so treat any figure you calculate at home as an estimate until a lender confirms it.
Get a real scope and a fixed-price bid first, then borrow against that number. Homeowners who reverse the order tend to get approved for a round figure, design a project to fill it, and discover the scope and the loan do not line up. A free design consultation gives you a written number to take to a lender, and it costs nothing to find out before you apply.
It depends on the product. Home equity loans, HELOCs, and cash-out refinances are secured by the home, which is why the rates are lower and why the paperwork involves an appraisal and title work. Unsecured home improvement loans and credit cards place no lien on the property. Ask any lender directly whether the loan is secured before you sign, and confirm what happens if you sell the house before the balance is paid off.
Payments are tied to milestones in the contract rather than collected as one lump sum. A deposit holds your place in the schedule and covers initial material orders, then progress payments come due as defined phases finish, with a final payment at substantial completion and walkthrough. The amounts and the milestones are written into your fixed-price agreement before construction starts, so you always know what is due and what has to be finished for it to be due.
No. It is a math tool. It applies a standard amortization formula to the amount, term, and rate you enter and shows what the payment would be. It does not check your credit, it does not submit anything anywhere, and it is not a quote, a pre-qualification, or a commitment to lend from anyone. Your actual rate, term, and eligibility are set by whichever lender you apply with.
Usually yes, and most home improvement lenders no longer charge prepayment penalties, but this is a term to verify in writing rather than assume. Ask whether there is a prepayment penalty, whether it expires after a set number of years, and whether extra payments are applied to principal. Paying a loan down early is the single largest lever you have on total interest cost.

Get the number first. Then decide how to pay for it.

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