James and Tina came to Tembo in March 2026. They were getting ready to list their home, but they knew it wasn’t going to show its best. The kitchen was dated, and the main bathroom hadn’t been touched in years. They understood something most sellers don’t always want to hear: in a slower market, a tired home either sits, or it sells for less.
They wanted to renovate before listing. The problem was paying for it.
Their equity was solid, but their cash was limited — the money to fund a kitchen and bathroom refresh simply wasn’t sitting in their bank account. A traditional refinance made no sense since they were selling, and a HELOC would have meant weeks of waiting with a complex approval process. Their planned listing date was approaching, so they had to move quickly.
This is the gap so many sellers fall into. The value to fund the work is right there in the home — but there is no fast, simple way to access it.
Tembo looked at the file. The equity was there, the plan made sense, and the home was heading to market — that’s the kind of deal Tembo says yes to. The team advanced James and Tina the renovation funds against the equity in their home.
No income verification. No monthly payments.* They completed the kitchen and bathroom upgrades, then listed.
The renovation spruced up the overall curb appeal of the home. They got showings quicker and helped to sell the home faster. The home ended up selling for $60,000 more than they were thinking of listing the home for originally. When the home was sold, Tembo was repaid directly from the proceeds of the sale. The cost of the work came back to them due to them having the confidence of selling for what they thought their home was worth. The home moved quickly and James and Tina walked away happy.
For the broker on this file, it was a clean win: their client got more for their home than they expected, the deal closed quickly, and they built a relationship with clients who will come back the next time financing is needed.
James and Tina aren’t unusual. Consider a typical broker’s pipeline:
These are house rich, cash poor clients with a clear plan and real equity behind them. They just need someone who can unlock that equity quickly and let the work pay for itself at the sale.
Got a client whose home would sell faster with the right renovation? Call Tembo Financial at 416-238-6717 or visit www.tembofinancial.com to get their renovation funded.