Specialty Mortgage Options in California & Georgia
Not every situation fits a simple 30-year fixed purchase or refinance. Some buyers are building, others are renovating, and many homeowners want to tap equity without touching their first mortgage.
This page is your hub for specialty mortgage options in California and Georgia, with quick explanations and links to deeper guides on:
Use this page to figure out which specialty option fits your situation, then click through for details and next steps.
What Do We Mean by “Specialty Mortgages”?
Specialty mortgages are purpose-built loan strategies for situations that are a little more specific than a standard purchase or refinance. Common examples include:
- Building or buying a new construction home
- Buying a fixer or upgrading your current home using a renovation loan
- Using a home equity loan or HELOC instead of refinancing your first mortgage
All of these options are available alongside traditional loan types like FHA, VA, and Conventional. The goal is to match the structure to your actual plan—build, improve, or access equity.
New Construction Loans
Who it’s for: Buyers who are building from the ground up, or purchasing a newly built home from a builder.
New construction financing is different from a typical resale purchase. You may be:
- Choosing a lot and floor plan in a builder community
- Working with a builder or general contractor on your own lot
- Managing a longer timeline from contract to closing
We’ll look at how your new construction loan compares to a standard purchase loan, how long you can lock a rate, and what happens if timelines or market conditions change.
Renovation Loans
Who it’s for: Buyers or homeowners who want to finance both the property and improvements in one mortgage.
Renovation loans can be useful when:
- You’re buying a home that needs repairs or updates
- You want to modernize an older property in a great neighborhood
- You prefer to roll project costs into your mortgage instead of using separate financing
We’ll compare a renovation loan to other options, like buying as-is and later using a home equity loan or HELOC or a cash-out refinance.
Home Equity Loans & HELOCs
Who it’s for: Homeowners who already have a mortgage and want to tap equity without refinancing their first loan.
Instead of replacing your existing mortgage, you may be able to:
- Add a home equity loan (fixed-rate second mortgage, lump-sum)
- Open a HELOC (home equity line of credit) that you can draw from as needed
These tools can help fund renovations, repairs, education, or other goals while preserving a low first-mortgage rate—if you have one. We’ll also compare them to a full refinance when that’s the better fit.
How Specialty Options Fit into Your Overall Plan
Whether you’re in North County San Diego, the Inland Empire (Riverside or San Bernardino Counties), or Metro Atlanta, your ideal strategy usually comes down to three questions:
- Are you buying, improving, or tapping equity in a home you already own?
- Is your current first mortgage rate worth protecting—or worth replacing?
- How long do you plan to keep the property and the loan?
Specialty options like new construction, renovation loans, and home equity financing are tools. Our job is to match the right tool to your timeline, risk comfort, and long-term goals.
Next Steps: Which Specialty Option Fits You?
If you’re not sure which page applies to you, that’s okay. Start with a quick conversation and we’ll narrow it down together. We can:
- Confirm whether a standard purchase or refinance is enough
- Show you if a specialty option (new construction, renovation, equity) adds value
- Walk through side-by-side scenarios in writing