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ADU walls framed and standing on a San Jose lot

Financing

Almost nobody pays for a build like this out of an account

Most of our clients borrow against the house. We introduce you to a real loan officer — by name, early, before anyone has spent weeks designing something that turns out not to be fundable.

Talk to Christi at RenoFi
Home  /  Financing

The Problem

Your bank is looking at the wrong number

A standard home equity loan is underwritten on what your home is worth today. That is a real problem when the entire point of the project is that it will be worth considerably more once it is built. Plenty of homeowners sitting on a perfectly good ADU lot get told they do not have the equity for it — because the appraiser is valuing a backyard.

RenoFi is built for exactly that gap. Their loans are underwritten on your home's after-renovation value — what it will be worth with the work finished — and RenoFi advertises up to 90% of it. They cover ADUs, additions and whole-home projects, which is most of what we build.

Find out what you can borrow in week one, not after a month of drawings. A project you cannot fund was never a lost sale — it was an unqualified one.

We have no role in that decision and we do not see your credit. What we can do is put you in front of someone local who does this every day, and tell you honestly what the build is going to cost so you are borrowing against a real number.

Who You Talk To

A person, not a web form

RenoFi assigned Elusive Construction a local senior loan officer rather than a call queue. Christi handles our clients directly — your project, your scenario, your questions.

Book a slot on her calendar and you get a guaranteed time with her. There is no cost, no obligation, and you do not need a signed contract with us first. Plenty of people talk to her before they have decided anything.

If you would rather we made the introduction by email, tell us and we will.

RenoFi

Christi Drake

Senior Loan Officer · RenoFi · NMLS 1460157

Call or text
(916) 531-7106
Email
christi.drake@renofi.com
Book time with Christi

How It Runs

Three steps, in this order

Talk to us about the build

A 30-minute project discovery call. You cannot sensibly borrow against a number nobody has worked out yet. Book a discovery call →

Not sure which route fits your project? How people actually pay for an ADU →

Talk to Christi in parallel

Do not wait for a signed contract. The two conversations run alongside each other, and knowing your ceiling early shapes the scope instead of wrecking it.

We build to the number that is real

Once you know what you can borrow and we know what the work costs, the scope gets set against both. Then payment follows completed work, the same as any of our projects.

Smaller Projects

A kitchen or a bathroom is a different tool

A renovation mortgage is the right instrument for a detached ADU and the wrong one for a single bathroom. For smaller work, financing is available through our partner Acorn Finance. You can see your options in about a minute, it is a soft credit check so it will not affect your score, and there is no obligation.

Check your options with Acorn

Straight Answers

Common questions

Does Elusive Construction lend the money?
No. We are a licensed general contractor, not a lender and not a mortgage broker. The loan, the terms and the approval all come from RenoFi and its lending partners. What we do is introduce you to a named loan officer early, so you find out what you can borrow before anyone spends weeks designing something you cannot fund.
Do you get paid for referring me?
No — and we will not accept it. We take no fee, commission or other compensation for sending you to RenoFi. Loans secured by your home are covered by RESPA, which makes a referral fee illegal, and we would decline it regardless. The payoff for us is the project, not a kickback.
How can I borrow against a house I haven't renovated yet?
That is the part most homeowners have never been told. A normal home equity loan is underwritten on what your home is worth today, which is exactly the problem when the thing that adds the value is the build you have not done yet. RenoFi loans are underwritten on your home's after-renovation value — RenoFi advertises up to 90% of it. That is why an ADU can pencil for someone who has very little equity right now.
Will checking this affect my credit?
Talk to Christi first — a conversation costs you nothing and involves no credit check at all. Any actual application, and what kind of credit inquiry it involves, is RenoFi's process to explain, and she will walk you through it before anything is pulled.
What can you tell me about rates and payments?
Nothing, and you should be suspicious of any contractor who does. We never see your credit, so any number we quoted would be a guess dressed up as a promise. Christi quotes real numbers against your real file. We stay in our lane, which is building.
Do I need financing lined up before you will price my project?
No. Pricing comes first — you need a real number before you know what to borrow. But have the financing conversation early, in parallel with scoping, rather than at the end. A project that cannot be funded was never a lost sale; it was an unqualified one, and finding that out in week one is better for both of us.

Next

Get the build priced honestly first

Thirty minutes on video, Monday to Thursday. We will tell you what the project realistically costs — including whether it is a project we would take — and you will know what to take to a lender.

Book a Project Discovery Call (408) 597-2733

Elusive General Construction Inc. is a licensed general contractor, not a lender or a mortgage broker. We do not extend credit, arrange credit, or take part in any lending decision, and we hold no lending license. We receive no fee, commission or other compensation for referring you to RenoFi, Acorn Finance or any other lender. All loan products, rates, terms, approvals and required disclosures come from the lender, not from us. RenoFi NMLS ID 1802847. Acorn Finance is Headway Sales Inc. DBA Acorn Finance, NMLS ID 1817022, CA Finance Lenders License 60DBO-83199. Nothing on this page is an offer of credit or a commitment to lend. Elusive General Construction Inc., CA General B License #1112902.