Donna used her home equity to fund aging in place renovations

Donna knew she had a significant amount of equity in her home in Hopkins, Minnesota. She’d lived there since it was built in 1986, and the home hadn’t undergone any updates in that time. She had no intention of moving any time soon, so when her partner began experiencing some mobility issues, she decided it was time for some updates so that it would stay accessible as they age in place together in their home.

Handrails in the two bathrooms, curbless shower stalls (often referred to as walk-in showers or zero-entry showers), kitchen cupboards that didn’t require lots of low kneeling, and narrower bathroom vanities in case a cane or walker is needed down the line—these were the renovations on Donna’s list that would all make aging in place more enjoyable.

But despite her substantial home equity, Donna’s mortgage company wasn’t interested in offering a line of credit to fund the kitchen and bathroom renovations they had planned. So the self-employed clothing designer started looking for alternative financing solutions.

After hearing a sponsored advertisement on Minnesota Public Radio about Hometap, Donna was intrigued.

“I have a background in security sales so I have familiarity with home equity products, and so first I wanted to see if it was legal in Minnesota,” explains Donna. “It felt like a good fit for me; I made the connection with [my Investment Manager] Sam, she got in touch with me right away, and I was impressed with the level of service I got. I never hesitated, any questions I had were answered thoroughly.”

Her Investment Manager’s expertise and attention, combined with Hometap’s Scenario Planner, helped Donna decide that Hometap was the right solution for her and her home.

“I liked the accounting part of it where [Sam and I] walked through scenarios and plugged in different numbers to come up with estimates,” says Donna. “I’m used to working with probables, so it made it easy for me to compare [a Hometap Investment] to a loan; it was fun and easy to work with, it gave me the right tools as I was thinking through my options. And the FAQ section was very thorough in answering questions I had, too.”

Just two months after accepting a Hometap Investment, Donna is about one-third of the way through with her home improvements, and is putting the final details together on her kitchen upgrades.