When your builder stops work mid-build: the insurance claim first, then the finance to finish
- Home warranty insurance comes first: the Home Building Compensation Fund (HBCF) through icare in NSW, or Home Warranty insurance through the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) in Victoria
- An indicative answer on finance within 2 business days; lender approval usually takes 2 to 6 weeks
- Loans from $100K to $2M, for the gap between any insurance payout and the cost to finish, or a refinance to fund a new builder
- Homeowners building the house they plan to live in, on land they own
- Full-doc (tax returns), low-doc or alt-doc (BAS, bank statements or an accountant's letter instead) options across our 90+ lender panel
The builder has stopped coming to site, calls go unanswered, or a letter has arrived from an administrator. You are left with a part-built house, a part-drawn loan and perhaps rent as well. It is a hard position, and there is an order to work through. Your home warranty insurance comes first, because it can pay towards finishing the work. Finance comes after that, for the part insurance does not cover, or where your current construction loan cannot fund a new builder. Joseph Farhat and his team can look at your claim, your loan and the new price to finish, and tell you plainly whether a loan is part of the answer. Sometimes it is not.
Check your home warranty insurance first
In NSW, the Home Building Compensation Fund (HBCF), run by icare, is a last resort scheme. It responds when the builder has become insolvent, died, disappeared, or had their licence suspended for not complying with a court order or an order of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to pay you. For incomplete work it covers the lost deposit and the cost to complete, up to $340,000 per dwelling for policies issued from 1 February 2012, with non-completion claims limited to 20% of the contract price, as varied. A claim for incomplete work must be made within 12 months of the date the work stopped or failed to start. Claims go through the HBCF Portal, or by emailing the HBCF Claim Form to hbcfclaims@icare.nsw.gov.au, with your contract, details of the unfinished work and documents showing what happened to the builder. icare's general enquiries line is 02 8378 0560.
In Victoria, Home Warranty insurance through the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) applies from 1 July 2026, and earlier work falls under the older domestic building insurance (DBI). The two respond to different events and have different limits. In Queensland, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) runs the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme.
Your solicitor can explain where the original contract stands before a new builder is engaged. If the mortgage and rent together are hard to meet, ask your lender about hardship options. The National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 offers free financial counselling.
Who we can help access finance
- NSW homeowners whose HBCF claim is accepted, but the payout falls short of the price to finish.
- Owners with undrawn funds left in the loan, but not enough to meet a new builder's price.
- Borrowers whose lender needs a fresh approval before paying stages to a new builder.
- Victorian owners with a Home Warranty claim under way, weighing what finance could add.
- Owners whose builder died or had their licence suspended, leaving a frame or lock-up stage half paid.
- Owners paying rent and loan interest while the site sits idle, who want to see their options.
How Home Build Completion Finance Works
A stalled home usually already carries a construction loan, approved on the original contract and partly paid out. A replacement builder inspects the site, prices what is left and allows for defects, and that price can exceed the unpaid part of the old contract. What needs funding is the new price to finish, less the money still in your loan and any insurance payout.
That gap is funded one of two ways. Your current lender may accept the new contract and consider an increase. Or a new lender pays out the existing loan and funds the remaining work in fresh stages. Either way, the lender looks at the new contract, a valuation of the finished home and your repayments. Lenders also differ in how they treat an insurance claim that has not been paid.
Joseph Farhat and his team review the claim, the existing loan and the new contract, match your position to the right lender from the 90+ panel, and manage the application. We are a finance broker, not a lawyer or a claims adviser. Your solicitor, and icare or the BPC, are the right contacts for the contract and the claim.
What Lenders Assess for Home Build Completion Finance
The new contract
Cost to complete
The insurance position
The existing loan
The finished value
Your repayments
The Home Build Completion Finance Process: What to Expect
- Lodge the insurance claim and speak to your solicitor, then tell Joseph Farhat and his team where the build and the claim stand.
- Send the original contract, loan statement, stage payment record, claim letters and any new builder's quote.
- We work out whether staying with your lender or refinancing suits your position, and what each would need.
- The lender values the finished home and reviews the new contract, then issues an approval with a new stage schedule. We go through it with you before you sign.
- The new builder starts, stages are inspected and paid, and the loan becomes a standard home loan once the house is complete.
Indicative Finance Options
| Lender Type | Pricing | Max LVR | Typical Loan Range | Structure | Speed to Approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank | Sharpest available pricing | Up to 80% of the finished value, higher with LMI at some lenders | $100K to $2M | Variation or increase of the existing construction loan, or a new loan for the remaining work | 3 to 6 weeks |
| Non-Bank Lenders | Priced for flexibility | Up to 80% of the finished value | $100K to $2M | Refinance of the existing loan plus the cost to finish; alt-doc and low-doc options | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Private Finance | Not typically used to finish an owner-occupied home. Available for unique scenarios only. | ||||
Indicative figures only. Actual terms depend on your circumstances, the property, and lender assessment at the time of application. We quote your rate and comparison rate for your specific loan amount and term before you apply. Terms are subject to change.
