Mortgage & Refinancing Information


A Guide to Getting a Home Improvement Loan


If you've got a few things around the house that you'd like to spruce up but don't have the money for, you might want to consider getting a home improvement loan. As the name implies, a home improvement loan is designed to pay for improvements to a house or other form of real estate.

The house and the improvements themselves serve as collateral for the loan, thus reducing the need for additional collateral to be on the line.

Best of all, a home improvement loan can help you to improve both your credit score and the value of your house all at the same time.

Collateral you can live in

Much like a mortgage or other home loan, a home improvement loan uses the equity in your house or real estate (with the equity being the amount of the home that's already paid for) as a basis for the collateral value of the home.

This value is used, along with estimates for the improvements that you want to do, to determine how much the amount of the home improvement loan is going to be. The more equity the house or real estate has in it, the larger the loan amount can be? though it still needs to be within your ability to pay it back in a reasonable amount of time.

Shopping around for the best prices

Obviously, a home improvement loan is a major investment and should not be entered into lightly. Finding the right home improvement loan for you is a two-step process? first you need to find out how much your improvements are going to cost, and then you need to try to find your best offer at a bank or other lender.

Shop around at building supply stores to try to find the lowest prices, and contact carpenters, contractors, and other professionals in your area for quotes on how much the work would cost. Do as much of the work as you can yourself, to cut back on costs, though don't skimp if you do need a professional to do part or all of the work. After all, it's better to spend a few more pounds than to end up with inferior workmanship or to put yourself in danger.

Once you have several quotes for both the cost of materials and the cost of labor, it's time to try to get your home improvement loan.

Visit several banks and finance companies in your area, getting interest rates and loan terms from each one. Be sure to take your previous research with you, so that the loan officers will be able to see what you have in mind and make a decision regarding your home improvement loan.

Compare the rates of several lenders before deciding on which one you want to use, and do your best to pay off the loan as quickly as possible? after all, it can make it easier to get a good loan rate the next time home improvements roll around.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

John Mussi is the founder of Direct Online Loans who help homeowners find the best available loans via the http://www.directonlineloans.co.uk website.


MORE RESOURCES:

Neon Tommy

Obama pressures Congress on mortgage refinance program
Fox News
WASHINGTON – President Obama is rallying support for his plan to expand government assistance to homeowners, pressuring Congress to help lower lending rates for millions of strapped homeowners. Obama, in his radio and Internet address Saturday, ...
Mixed reviews for President Obama's housing planCBS Moneywatch
Obama Announces Mortgage Refinance PlanNeon Tommy
Cardoza applauds Obama's new housing initiative, says will help ValleyMerced Sun-Star
Speaking of Real Estate (blog)
all 545 news articles »


MonitorBankRates.com

Mortgage Refinance Rates: 15 Year Refinance Mortgage Rates at 3.29%
MonitorBankRates.com
Mortgage refinance rates on 30 year conforming home loans are averaging 3.98%, unchanged from yesterday's average 30 year mortgage refinance rate. Mortgage refinance rates today on 15 year home mortgage loans are averaging 3.29%, down from yesterday's ...

and more »


International Business Times

Obama Proposes Mortgage-Refinance Plan
Wall Street Journal
By NICK TIMIRAOS President Barack Obama called on Congress during Tuesday's State of the Union address to approve new legislation that would give all homeowners who are current on their mortgages the opportunity to refinance at record low mortgage ...
Will Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Be D.O.A.?U.S. News & World Report
Obama proposes mortgage refinance programPolitico (blog)
Obama State of the Union 2012: Mortgage Refinance Changes Face ObstaclesInternational Business Times
Housing Wire -Daily Caller -MyFox Los Angeles
all 12,768 news articles »


Housing Wire

President Obama's Mortgage Refinance Plan Just a Bid for Votes
Yahoo! Contributors Network
By Mark Wise By Mark Wise | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 12 hrs ago This story comes from the Yahoo! Contributor Network, where individuals publish their unique perspectives on some of the world's most popular websites.
New Obama mortgage refinance plan to near $10 billionHousing Wire
Obama to Announce New FHA Mortgage Refinance ProgramGo Banking Rates
Obama mortgage refi plan to be rolled outMarketWatch
MNI News
all 1,125 news articles »


Obama Unveils Mortgage Refinance Endeavors
Mortgageorb
by MortgageOrb.com on Wednesday 01 February 2012 The Obama administration has presented the mortgage refinancing plan that was first announced during the president's State of the Union speech on Jan. 24. According to a statement released by the White ...

and more »


Living large? Get the best rate on your jumbo mortgage refinance
Fox Business
If you buy apparel from "big and tall" clothing stores, you're used to paying more and having less to choose from. "Regular guys," on the other hand, benefit from a wider selection of products and more competition between retailers.

and more »


High Volume Stock Movers: Bank of America, Sprint, Cisco, Annaly, Sirius Feb. 8th
Wall St. Cheat Sheet
By Derek Hoffman Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC): The US's Home Affordable Refinance Program has increased mortgage refinance applications and strained capacity at Bank of America, leading the bank to ask some customers to wait 60 to 90 days, ...



New HARP Could Help Up to 6.7 Million
NASDAQ
Other changes to the program were designed to make it easier for homeowners with private mortgage insurance (PMI) to refinance or to obtain a HARP mortgage refinance with a lender other than their current mortgage servicer. In addition, new limits were ...

and more »


AgedLeadStore.com to Add 1100000 Aged Mortgage Refinance Leads
Middle East North Africa Financial Network
COM, January 26, 2012 ) Baltimore, MD AgedLeadStore.com is increasing its value for its customers by adding 1.1 million aged Mortgage Refinance Leads in February. This is important as many people depend upon their ability to refinance to make progress ...



GlobeSt.com

1 M-SF Marathon Oil Tower Management Assignment Goes to CBRE
GlobeSt.com
That same year, the owner obtained a $75 million mortgage refinance to help convert a series of subleases in the building at 5555 San Felipe to direct leases. The money has been used to help fund some capital improvements in the 1980s building as well.

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2007