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In need of financial help for home improvements? Got more children than bedrooms? Thinking about having an extension built or building work carried out on your property? Maybe you are considering a new conservatory, or a brand new fitted kitchen or fitted bedrooms? Well, you've come to the right place if you are looking for financial help!
Here we take a look into Financial Help for Home Improvements and how they can be considerably less expensive and a far less daunting exercise than moving home, and can also add substantially to the value of your property which can only be a good thing! We also take a look into the different types of available financial help for home improvements, and how we may be able to assist you!
Table of Contents:
As we established a moment or two ago, Home Improvements can be considerably less expensive than moving to another property, and you also get to avoid the upheaval of moving the children to new schools, and leaving behind old friends and neighbours.
So, what improvements add value to your home? Well, any carefully organised and well planned programme of home improvements to increase property value will not not only improve your lifestyle but can also add thousands on to the value of your property. Maybe you'd just like to spruce the place up a bit with a new fitted kitchen, or have the bedrooms fitted. Or perhaps you'd like to gain a new room altogether by having an extension or stylish conservatory built. These are all types of home improvements that add value to a property when undertaken as part of a well planned home improvements programme.
Well, if you are a homeowner, then you will more than likely be able to choose one of the following ways of raising finance for home improvements...
Naturally the one that's most suitable for you will depend upon the amount you need to borrow, your circumstances and your priorities.
So, let's take a closer look at the different forms of available financial help for home improvements and consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of each type.
This can be an effective way of funding your home improvements, especially if the amount you require is fairly substantial. The interest rate you are likely to pay will be competitive, although you may not qualify for special deals on a further advance such as a fixed or discount rate.
Some lenders may insist on the home improvements being carried out first before the funds are released. Beware also if you've encountered recent credit difficulties, such as missed mortgage or other credit payments, or county court judgements (CCJs), as lenders will often refuse to lend further funds.
A remortgage is when you switch one lender for a new one, and can often be very effective when raising larger capital amounts, especially for home improvements. You could even consider a complete financial restructure, raise the money you require for the home improvements, and consolidate existing debt, such as personal loans, HP and credit cards. Just think how much easier life would be with just one manageable monthly repayment.
However, if you do consolidate your existing debt, you should remember that your unsecured borrowings will become secured, and although the interest rate charged may be cheaper, and your monthly outlay is reduced, you could well pay back more interest by spreading the debt over the longer term. You should also remember to take into account any early repayment charges (ERC's) you may incur on your existing borrowings, as well as the attendant costs of purchase, e.g. valuation fee, solicitor's costs, broker fees etc.
As an alternative, you may wish to use a secured loan to fund your home improvements. The advantages here include:
However, it's worth remembering that the interest rate on a secured loan is usually more expensive than that of a remortgage, but usually more competitive than many unsecured plans.
Unsecured loans are available over annual periods of up to five years. However there are a small number of plans that extend to ten years. So, depending on the extent of your home improvements, you can check the affordability of repayments, although it is likely that only the smaller home improvement projects can be feasibly funded through an unsecured loan. This is because many unsecured loan scheme are limited to maximum borrowings of £15,000 - £25,000, and this, coupled with the shorter repayment periods, can make unsecured borrowing out of your budgetary reach.
Other downsides are that the rates of interest are often much higher than if the borrowing were secured either by way of a further advance, a remortgage, or a secured loan. The approval rate is also very strict, and low credit scores or the existence of a poor credit history will inevitably lead to your application being turned-down!
Nevertheless, the benefits include the speed of arranging funds, and as security is not required, there's no need to worry about the available equity in your home!
If your parents or relative have spare cash, they may be able to help finance your home improvements. However, most people prefer to keep their financial affairs private, and therefore do not wish to approach family. That said, this method would of course generally be the cheapest way of funding your home improvements, as interest would not usually be charged - and sometimes you may find it becomes a gift! You could always emphasise that giving money away could well assist them in their inheritance tax planning! How thoughtful.
Credit cards can be useful for purchasing materials for your home improvement project. However, if you are unable to repay the cost of purchases on your next statement, you will start incurring interest at quite a high rate, and APR's of 20% and upwards are not uncommon!
Well, we will certainly try!
So if you're a homeowner, and would like to discuss the options open to you when it comes to financial help for home improvements, or any other project come to that, a quick call to one of our Advisors should do the trick!
The first thing we'll do is get to understand your requirements, circumstances, needs and aspirations and hopefully come up with the most appropriate solution as to which form of financial help for home improvements would be the most appropriate for you. However, please bear in mind that we only arrange mortgages, remortgages and homeowner secured loans. We'll leave extracting money from the family to you!!!
Usually, yes!
We have a wide range of plans to suit most circumstances in our mortgage and loan portfolios, and we specialise in providing solutions, even in the trickiest of circumstances.
You will find our service to be friendly yet professional, helpful and unstuffy. So, please don't hesitate to Contact Us if you would like to discuss your requirements, naturally without any obligation! Our advisors are available everyday until 10pm including the weekends on Freephone 08000 282 281, or why not enquire online any time, and we'll be delighted to provide you with an in-principle decision - whatever your circumstances!
We hope we've been able to provide you with some insight into some of the different available forms of financial help for home improvements and how we can assist. Don't forget that there is much more information and help to hand within the hundreds of pages of our website, and that we'd love to be able to help you.
Mortgages/Remortgages: The overall cost for comparison is 9.8% APR. The actual rate available will depend upon your circumstances. Ask for a personalised illustration. APR variable and based on a usual case. Most customers are likely to receive a lower rate or the same rate as our overall cost for comparison rate - learn more about APR.
There are no upfront broker fees.
However, a fee may be charged on successful completion. An indication is that on conforming cases (straightforward applications with no or minimal adverse credit) a fee may be charged of up to 1% of the amount advanced, typically £795 and will depend on your circumstances. For non-conforming cases (where case research and processing may be more complex due to adverse credit or unusual circumstances), a fee may be charged of up to 3% of the amount advanced, typically £1,995.
Homeowner Loans: Rates from 8.9% APR variable, but typically 13.9% APR variable. Most customers are likely to receive a lower rate or the same rate as our typical variable rate - learn more about APR. Shire Direct also has a range of non-conforming loan plans with rates up to 19.9% APR. These plans are designed to help those who may have a more difficult credit history, including CCJ's and credit arrears, IVA and bankruptcy problems.
A broker fee of between 0% and 10% of the loan advance may be charged for arranging a secured loan.
All loans subject to status and secured on property.
The actual rate available will depend upon your circumstances. Written quotations on request.
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE
SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED
IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.
Adding existing debt to your mortgage will increase the repayment term and overall cost.
Are you worried and becoming stressed because you are having problems getting a mortgage or remortgage? Worry and stress no more! Here at Shire Direct we provide tailor made mortgage solutions to suit you, and can usually help with all kinds of circumstances including...
Remember, we're here to help, and would love to hear from you!
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Shire Direct and Shire Direct Mortgages are trading styles of Shire Processing Centre Limited which is
Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in respect of regulated mortgage products and general insurances.
Registered No: 302389. Commercial funding and Secured Loans are not regulated by the FSA.
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