There are at least two loan programs available through Fannie Mae and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that allow you to roll the cost of improvements into your first mortgage; ask your lender about them. Also, the Federal Housing Administration has a home improvement loan program for a second loan to finance improvements. Another possibility is to ask the seller to carry the financing or at least a second loan to cover the improvements. You would then repay the loan when the rehabilitation is complete and you refinance or sell.