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How to Finance Home Improvement & Repair

Home improvement includes small repairs as well as house renovation. There is no single reason for undertaking a home improvement job. House repairs may include plumbing and repairing air conditioning and heating systems. If there is no need for house repairs, you may still go for home improvement. Home improvement may include painting, flooring, roofing, wall coverings, woodworking, interior decoration, etc. Home improvement can even increase the resale value of your house. This can be a good investment opportunity. You must go for home improvement as an investment opportunity only when the cost of home improvement is lower than the increase in the value of the house.

If you do not have sufficient funds to carry out home improvement job, you can take out a home improvement loan. You can finance a small repair work from your own pocket. On the other hand, a renovation job requires a considerable expenditure for which you need to get a loan. There are plenty of home improvement loan options available to choose from.

There are several sources of getting a home improvement loan. One of them is a homeowner’s loan. If you own a house, you can pledge it as a security to avail a home improvement loan. Such a loan carries a low rate of interest since it is secured against a property.

Another source of a home improvement loan is a home equity loan. Suppose your house is 80% mortgaged, you can take out a home equity loan to release the remaining 20% of the equity that is tied up in your house. Home equity is the current value of your house minus the unpaid mortgaged balance. A home equity loan is taken out against a house which is already mortgaged.

You can also take out a personal home improvement loan to carry out a home improvement job. It is very easy to avail a personal loan. There are many lenders who offer a variety of personal loans. If you want a small amount of money and are willing to repay it over a short period of time, you may go for an unsecured personal loan. Conversely, a secured personal loan will help you avail a considerable amount of money.

Home Improvement Loans: The Choice between Secured and Unsecured

You may have been living in the same house for a number of years. It is quite understandable that you want a change now. Home improvement can give you the change that you are looking for. There are many things that you can do to renovate your house.

· Remodel your living room, bedrooms, bathroom, or kitchen.

· Give a different look to your garden.

· Create an additional room for your growing children.

· Change your backyard into a small basketball court.

· Get new bathroom fixtures.

You need a home improvement loan when you do not have sufficient funds for home improvement. You may avail a secured or an unsecured loan for home improvement. Both the secured and the unsecured loans have their pros and cons.

There are several benefits of secured home improvement loans:

· Secured home improvement loans carry low rates of interest.

· You may avail a large amount of secured home improvement loan.

· You may avail a secured home improvement loan having an extended loan period, thus reducing the amount of your monthly cash outflow.

· The approval of a secured home improvement loan is easy.

The biggest disadvantage of availing a secured home improvement loan is that it requires the borrower’s property as collateral. If the borrower defaults in repayment even after repeated reminders, his property may be repossessed by the lender.

This disadvantage of a secured home improvement loan becomes the biggest advantage of an unsecured home improvement loan. In case of an unsecured loan, the borrower’s property is not at the risk of repossession. However, the disadvantages include

· High rate of interest

· Small loan period

· Difficulty in getting approval

· Small loan amount

If a person has a poor credit rating history, a secured home improvement loan is the most suitable for him. First of all, it is very difficult to get approval for an unsecured bad credit loan. Secondly, an unsecured bad credit loan carries a very high rate of interest.

In conclusion, it is recommended that when a person applies for a home improvement loan, he must consider all the advantages and disadvantages of different home improvement loans. He must ensure that the loan he is going to avail meets his needs and suits his financial position.