There are four practical ways to pay for a renovation without adding to your existing home loan: draw on savings or an offset account, take out a personal loan or a dedicated construction loan, arrange a fractional sale of part of your property’s future value, or — if you’re of Age Pension age — take a lump-sum advance under the government’s Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS). None of these changes the balance or the interest rate on the mortgage you already have. What they cost, who qualifies, and what you give up in return is where they differ.

This guide sets out each option side by side. It doesn’t rank them — the right one depends on your age, how much of the home is still mortgaged, how much you need, and how soon. For the wider set of ways to access home equity without a loan, see our broader guide.

What are the options for funding a renovation without increasing your mortgage?

Each option raises money a different way: from funds you already hold, a new and separate debt, a sale of part of the property’s future value, or a government loan available only from Age Pension age.

Paying from savings or an offset account

If you have enough set aside, savings are the simplest option. There’s no new debt, no interest charged, and no lender assessment to pass. An offset account is a transaction account linked to your home loan; its balance is subtracted from your loan balance before daily interest is calculated, so money sitting there is already reducing what you pay in interest.

Spending offset savings on a renovation doesn’t touch your mortgage balance or your interest rate — you’re spending money that was already offsetting interest, so that reduction shrinks while the balance sitting there is lower. The real cost is the interest saving you give up, not a new charge.

A personal loan or a dedicated construction loan

A personal loan is a separate loan product, often unsecured, taken out alongside your existing mortgage rather than added to it. A construction loan is structured differently: instead of one lump sum, funds are released in stages as renovation work is completed and invoiced, tracking the build rather than landing in your account upfront.

Both are credit products in their own right, assessed independently of your existing mortgage. Like a refinance, a lender approving either one must make reasonable inquiries into your income and expenses under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 — the same responsible-lending framework, applied afresh to the new loan (ASIC RG 209). Rates, fees and terms vary by lender and loan type; a mortgage broker or the lender itself can quote current figures for your situation.

A fractional sale of part of your property’s future value

A fractional sale raises money by selling fractional economic interests — called Brix — in your property to investors, rather than borrowing against it. This is the model MyBrix operates, and it’s the newest of the four options here, so the mechanics are worth walking through.

Each property listed on MyBrix is divided into 10,000 Brix, together representing 100% of the property’s future net sale proceeds (and net rental proceeds, where the property is rented). A Brix is a financial product under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) — not a loan, and not a share of your title. As at July 2026, the process runs: application, a property assessment, sometimes a full valuation by an independent licensed valuer — typically two to four weeks — then a funding application and an Initial Brix Offering, the offer through which investors buy the property’s Brix and your funding is raised. If the funding threshold isn’t reached, the listing may not proceed.

MyBrix fee (owner side)	As at July 2026
Property assessment	$99, once
Manual assessment (licensed valuer)	$999, once, if required
Funding application	$1,999 with manual assessment / $1,499 without
Funding fee	5.0% upfront, or 0.1% per month deferred
Settlement cancellation	$500, if the listing doesn’t proceed

You must keep a minimum holding once funding completes — generally 20% (2,000 of the 10,000 Brix), though lower holdings such as 10% may be approved case by case — and the maximum term is 10 years. You remain the registered legal owner throughout, and a first-ranking mortgage is intended to be registered over the property at settlement, held on trust for all Brix holders.

As at July 2026, the Product Disclosure Statement describes MyBrix funding as a way for owners to release equity, refinance an existing property, or buy a new property without traditional bank finance. A renovation isn’t named among those purposes — the PDS treats renovation as the owner’s own cost, not a funding purpose it’s built around. Whether money raised through a fractional sale can then be put towards a renovation, or any other particular purpose, isn’t something the PDS addresses: it sets neither a restriction on how the funds are used nor an express right to use them for anything. That’s a point to confirm with MyBrix directly, or under the Participation Agreement.

Where the property already carries a bank mortgage, the PDS does deal with it — through the settlement process. A licensed conveyancer coordinates settlement with the outgoing bank, if there is one, and the funds raised are used to help discharge that existing mortgage as part of the same settlement at which MyBrix’s own first-ranking mortgage is intended to be registered. Exactly how an existing loan is discharged, and how the security ends up ranking, sits in the mortgage and security terms and the Participation Agreement, which aren’t published.

Two features matter for a renovation specifically: you can sell the property, or buy back Brix, at any time during the term, at a price agreed before listing — a fractional sale doesn’t lock you into the arrangement if your plans change. The cost sits on the other side of that: once Brix are sold, the economic benefit attached to them — including any future growth in value — belongs to the investors who hold them, unless you buy them back. Our guide to fractional property funding covers the full mechanics.

Carrying out the renovation itself is a separate question from raising the money for it. The PDS treats a renovation as the owner’s own responsibility and cost, and it doesn’t set out whether carrying one out needs MyBrix’s or Brix holders’ consent — the published terms are silent on renovation consent, in either direction. Any such requirement, if one exists, would sit in the Participation Agreement or the mortgage documentation, neither of which is public, so it’s worth confirming with MyBrix before relying on either answer.

A lump-sum advance under the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS)

HEAS is a Commonwealth loan, not a private one: Services Australia assesses eligibility, sets the amount available, and administers the loan directly, with no bank or broker involved. To qualify, you or your partner must be of Age Pension age, meet the qualifying pension eligibility rules (including at a zero rate), offer Australian real estate as security with adequate insurance, and not be bankrupt.

HEAS usually pays a fortnightly amount, but you can ask for some or all of it as a lump sum instead — a better fit for a one-off renovation bill than a stream of small payments. As at July 2026, each lump-sum advance is capped at 50% of the maximum annual pension rate per 26 fortnights, with a maximum of two advances (Services Australia).

Unlike the other three options, HEAS is a loan, and it accrues real interest — 3.95% per year, compounding fortnightly, as at July 2026. It’s secured by a charge or caveat over the property, not by any change to your existing home loan, and the amount available comes from an age-based formula applied to the value of the property offered as security.

Taking a HEAS advance changes what you hold in cash versus in your home, which can affect how your Age Pension is assessed. Payments can be affected in ways specific to your situation — contact Services Australia’s free Financial Information Service before proceeding. Our guide to the Home Equity Access Scheme covers its eligibility, rate and repayment terms in full.

How do the four options compare?

The table lines them up on structure, not cost. A personal loan can end up cheaper or more expensive than a fractional sale, depending on the renovation’s size, how long you keep the property, and what happens to its value — that calculation is one for a licensed adviser, not a general guide.

Option	Type	Interest	Effect on your mortgage	Who’s eligible
Savings or offset account	Your own funds	None	No change	Anyone with the funds available
Personal loan	Separate debt	Yes	No change	Passes the lender’s assessment
Construction loan	Separate debt, staged	Yes	No change	Passes the lender’s assessment
Fractional sale (MyBrix)	Sale of a fractional interest	None	No change; separate security applies	MyBrix criteria + minimum holding
HEAS lump-sum advance	Commonwealth loan	Yes, compounding	No change	Age Pension age + pension eligibility

Assumptions: an owner-occupied residential property; MyBrix terms as at July 2026 from the Product Disclosure Statement; HEAS terms as at July 2026 from Services Australia; personal loan and construction loan terms vary by lender and aren’t estimated here. None of the sale-based or government options changes the rate or balance on an existing mortgage; a personal or construction loan doesn’t either, but it does add its own repayment obligation alongside it.

What factors matter when choosing how to fund a renovation?

How soon you need the money. Savings are available immediately if you have them. A personal loan or construction loan depends on the lender’s approval timeline. A fractional sale’s valuation step alone typically takes two to four weeks. HEAS is assessed by Services Australia directly.

Whether you’d pass a lender’s assessment. A personal loan or construction loan is tested against your income and expenses like any other credit product. A fractional sale and a HEAS advance are not — they’re structured around the property and, for HEAS, your pension eligibility, rather than your income.

What you give up. Savings cost you the interest or return you’d otherwise have earned. A loan costs interest, whether fixed or compounding. A fractional sale costs a share of your property’s future value on the Brix you sell. Weighing these costs against each other for your own circumstances is best done with a licensed financial adviser.

Your existing mortgage. If the home still carries a mortgage, ask your existing lender or MyBrix directly how a new arrangement would interact with it before you commit — the answer differs by structure and by provider policy.

Where can you get reliable information?

Services Australia publishes the full HEAS rules; a lender or mortgage broker can quote current personal loan and construction loan terms; and for a fractional sale, the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination at mybrix.com.au sets out MyBrix’s terms in full. General information like this can map the options and how they’re structured. It can’t weigh them for your circumstances or tell you which is worth it — a licensed financial adviser, a mortgage broker, or Services Australia for HEAS specifically, can.