It is the New Year and it’s time for change. So, you’ve decided that you’re going to give your home a makeover. But, before you get out the tools and paint pot, there are a number of things you should consider, especially if you intend to borrow money to fund your home improvements.
Renovating to live in or renovating to sell?
When planning home improvements you must consider both your long-term and short-term motivation. You must also consider any immediate repairs that need to be carried out before your makeover is complete. There is little point in spending money on making your house look fabulous only to have it ruined because of a leak in the roof.
Make sure you check your roof, guttering, electrics, pipe-work, and general structure of your home as any of these repairs need to be completed before walls are re-plastered and decorated.
If you are renovating your home to sell in the future then repairs are best carried out at this stage rather than be discovered by any prospective buyer. When buying fixtures and fittings and choosing décor, you might need to consider what prospective buyers will like as well as what you can live within the short term.
If you are renovating your home because this is your forever home then you can make changes to suit your own taste.
Make a list of your priorities and costs
It is always wise to make a list of the priorities and approximate costs before you go shopping. There’s so much to choose from in terms of fixtures, fittings, and accessories that it’s very easy to get carried away and blow the budget before you’ve completed the whole job.
Once you have budgeted for any essential repairs, you might wish to turn your attention to energy efficiency. Do any of your windows need replacing? Are your doors draught-proof?
If you are seeking to replace an entire kitchen or bathroom, have a second look and see if anything can be recycled. Many savings can be made by just replacing kitchen doors or giving them a paint makeover.
Shop around and compare prices – many companies will be offering discounts for end of range items. Don’t overlook the second-hand market. If you are replacing your kitchen worktops, you may find someone who has bought more than they need and may be willing to sell it on for a fraction of the cost.
Check out your local builders’ merchants and kitchen/bathroom showrooms for ex-display models.
Do some of the work yourself
You could save quite a bit of money by doing some of the work yourself. Stripping wallpaper and sanding down woodwork can save money on decorating costs. Purchasing your own materials can sometimes save money. Check with the tradespeople that you are employing whether or not they have a discount card with the local builders’ merchants. Some may let you use this to purchase your fixtures and fittings and benefit from their discount.
Do you need to replace that floor or can you sand down the original floorboards and varnish them yourself? Many hundreds of pounds can be saved from renovating an existing feature in your home rather than replace it.
There are, of course, some jobs that you may not be able to do yourself for example structural repairs, plumbing, gas, and electrics. If you need a qualified tradesman for this job, ask your friends and family if they have experience of a good tradesman.
Can you do it from your own cash or do you need some help?
So now you’re at the stage where you have worked out exactly what needs to be done and how much it’s going to cost. Unfortunately despite making savings and doing some of the work yourself, you find that you just don’t have enough cash to finish the project. Perhaps it is time to consider a home improvement loan.
A home improvement loan will give you the money to pay your contractors while spreading the cost over the loan term. If you have renovated your property to sell and have borrowed the money to do so, then you don’t have to wait until the sale before you can pay your contractors.
What is a home improvement loan?
A home improvement loan is a type of personal credit specifically taken out for work to be carried out on your property. These loans allow homeowners to borrow up to £25,000 for terms of between one and seven years.
As with all loans, you will need to first be accepted by the lender for credit. You will need to sign a credit agreement stating that you will repay the funds plus any interest you may have accrued.
In some cases, the lenders will only accept you for a home improvement loan if you use your property as security on the money. Home improvement loans often involve larger sums of money between £7,500 and £15,000 therefore the lender requires collateral to help balance the risk should you default on your payments.
You will be told exactly how much you need to repay every month and how long for which means you can effectively budget around your repayments. By securing your loan against your home you may also be able to access even lower rates of interest. You must bear in mind that, while longer-term loans will lower the amount you repay each month, you will likely pay more in interest over the course of your loan.
Loan Broker offer unsecured home improvement loans meaning that you don’t have to put your home at risk if you fail to keep up repayments.
Where can you get help if you need to borrow?
If you are considering a home improvement loan then look no further. The application process is quite straightforward; once you have completed the form, telling us how much you want to borrow and how long for and whether or not you have a job, we will run a credit and affordability check on you.
Once that is done we will show your application to our network of lenders. They will review your application against their own lending criteria and decide whether they would like to make you an offer.
Finally, we will take all of their offers and show them to you so that you can decide which you would like to choose. This entire process only takes a few seconds and the service is entirely free to use. To get started, please click here.
