Home improvement: Do it yourself with secured loans

Usually, your home is the most valuable possession that you have. And, you would surely love to make it more comfortable, more beautiful and more aesthetically pleasing. In UK, many people carry out home improvements on their own. While some might do it to increase the market value of their homes, some have just the beauty aspect in their minds.
The reason may be different but ultimately your home becomes a better place to live in.

Everybody wants his home to have all the modern and up-to-date facilities. But, the lack of funds may spoil the game for many. The amount that you need to invest in improving your home is a big factor. If the existing condition of your home is not good, the budget may increase further. However, you can rely on secured loans. These loans are sanctioned on the basis of unutilised equity left in your home. If you are taking a loan against your home for the first time, you can get a big loan amount of up to 80 per cent of the unutilised equity. Some lenders can even offer you up to 125%.

DIY home improvements are not too difficult to manage. You can also do it very easily. However, if you are planning vast alterations and additions to your home, a systematic approach is required. You should plan what exactly needs to be done and how it would be done. Find out if you need permission from local councils for carrying out home improvements as per the building regulations and bye-laws. Any approval, if needed, should be taken. Thereafter, you should short-list some contractors and invite offers from them for the work to be done. Different contractors are likely to provide different quotations. So, you will have to make a rational decision while selecting the contractor.

Secured loans can be beneficially employed to increase the value of your home. A recent survey by Dynamic Markets for GE Money Home Lending reveals the top ten home improvements in terms of monetary appreciation of your home. If you carry out a loft conversion, it can increase the value of your home by another 22,300 pounds on an average. Similarly, an extension can add 19,271 pounds to the value of your home. Since secured loans can get you a big loan amount, you do not need to worry about the financial burden. These loans are also low-cost loans involving a very moderate rate of interest. The APRs generally hovers around 7 per cent. But, the rate of interest may rise if you have poor credit score.

When you carry out home improvement, you do a lot of planning to make your home the best place to live in. It should be the same with your loan also. Taking a loan is easier but to maintain the repayments over a long period of time may become difficult. To avoid any adverse situation, you should plan judiciously. As you know, secured loans are given against your home. Any default in the repayment of such loans may invite repossession proceedings against you. So, ensure repayments in time to avoid any such complications.

There is another aspect to home improvement that you should take care of. Do not commit yourself to any action until you have got the required permission or approval for carrying out the additions and alterations to your home. If you do not follow the local council planning rules and start carrying out home improvement work, you may run into trouble. If, later on, your plan is disapproved by the council, all expenses incurred by you may go waste.