Friday, December 12, 2008

Loan Programs for Home Repairs or Improvements

By Maxwell Smithson

Financing any additional work on your home from a loft conversion to remodeling the master bedroom is going to be expensive and unless you have a large amount of money in savings you will need to arrange a loan for home improvements. Home improvement can be costly, involving contractors, supplies, and tradesmen such as carpenters, plumbers, roofers, and electricians.

Whilst most homeowners are eligible for a home improvement loan, if they do not have a good credit history, they may be required to use their home as equity for the loan. When a homeowner has only just purchase the home, they are still able to arrange a loan, subject to their status of course. Fortunately for the homeowner, an unsecured home improvement loan is available with a fifteen year repayment term if required.

The primary stipulation when applying for an unsecured home improvement loan is the income level of both the owners (where this applies) but the amount of the loan must not be higher than the amount allowed by the county law where the property is situated. Whilst the lenders do not hand over the money without making some checks first on the property and the applicant, these checks are just to provide some security for the lender and home improvement loans are processed quite quickly.

In essence, when a home improvement loan is secured against the property, the applicants are in fact using the spare equity in their property to finance the loan. This is not the same as your original mortgage; instead, it is an additional loan that is often easier to obtain and process compared to a regular mortgage and because the loan is secured against your home, it usually provides better interest rates and terms than unsecured loans.

This is not an open ended loan though and a valuation of your property will be required. Although the value of your home is required, it will also take into account how much you owe both on the house and personally.

After this has taken place, the lenders will put a package forward which may not be for the full amount the homeowner wanted. Although it is not set in stone, the amount they are prepared to lend will be based on a percentage of the property valuation but some lenders will actually lend as much as a quarter as much again as the property is worth.

A secured loan can be risky if you arrange to have a loan greater than you can comfortably afford so consider this carefully as you may end up handing your beautiful home over to the creditors. So when you borrow for home improvement, it is best to use it only for necessary repairs and make renovations or home additions only when you have the money to spare. - 16003

About the Author: