When you start researching home improvement financing you’ll quickly learn that there are different ways to borrow money for home improvements. The two general types of loans are often categorized as “secured” and “unsecured” loans.
Unsecured loans are loans which are given to you based on your credit rating and not based on anything you have to offer up for collateral. Your credit rating is really nothing more than a measure of your historical ability to pay off debts and money given to you in the past. If you’ve always paid your bills on time and always pay back debt then you probably have a pretty good credit rating. By financing your home improvement projects with an unsecured loan of some type you will be paying the loan off without any sort of collateral offered to the bank. A credit card, even a credit card from a home improvement hardware store, is usually considered an unsecured loan.
Secure loans are loans in which the bank or lending institution have some sort of collateral or item which they technically “own” until you pay it off. When you finance car payments or buy a house with a mortgage the bank technically owns your car or home until you’ve paid off the debt amount plus interest. Your house is the collateral. If you default on your loan then the bank can take your house or car and sell it in an effort to regain some of the money they lent you.
Unsecured loans are good for small home improvement loans which you can pay off quickly. Home improvement store credit cards are good to use for small home improvement projects that are under $1,000 because the application process is usually fairly easy. Sometimes those home improvement store credit cards even offer zero percent interest or discounts on merchandise for a fixed period of time.
When you’re exploring larger home improvement financing options you’re almost always going to end up with some sort of secured loan because most of the time the equity or “extra value” in your house is used as collateral for a loan to improve it.
Secured home improvement loans such as home equity loans and home equity lines of credit generally have a lower interest rate, which makes paying them off easier over the long run. There is often more paperwork and a longer delay associated with secured loans because they are so much larger than most secured loans. Depending on your tax situation you may even be able to deduct the interest you pay on the secured home improvement loan from your yearly income tax returns.
No matter what type of home improvement financing you consider remember that you do have to pay the money back and you will be paying interest on the money owed. Plan ahead and make sure you can really afford the monthly payments before you go forward with your home improvement project. Many home improvement plans are scaled back when people finally begin to consider the true cost of home improvement financing.
If your home improvement project is a rather large one such as remodeling a kitchen, adding a bathroom or building an addition on your house then a secured loan that offers up your home’s equity as collateral is the best form of home improvement financing.
Posts Tagged ‘Secured’
Secured vs. Unsecured Home Improvement Loan
Friday, February 4th, 2011Secured Home Improvement Loans: are They Better?
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Given that the loan industry offers both secured and unsecured home improvement loans, you probably wonder whether secured loans are really better than unsecured home improvement loans. You know that the interest rate charged tends to be lower, but that’s about it? Or are there any other benefits you should take into account when deciding which type of loan to apply for?
Meant for making all kind of home improvements, this kind of loans are mainly tailored for homeowners. Whether the homeowner wishes to or can use his property as collateral or not does not matter. The property is still part of the borrower’s assets and in some way guarantees the repayment of the loan even if the loan is unsecured. Main Differences
The Classic differences between secured personal loans and unsecured personal loans also apply to secured and unsecured home improvement loans. The interest rate charged for secured home improvement loans is considerably lower due to the loan being guaranteed with an asset. Nevertheless, if the applicant is a homeowner with a good credit score and a clean credit history, the difference between the two rates fades away.
The loan amount you can request also depends on whether the home improvement loan is secured or unsecured. Secured home improvement loans are offered with higher loan amounts and you can usually request up to the remaining of the available home equity. However, if the applicant has sufficient assets, an unsecured home improvement loan could be awarded for even more money than a secured one.
The same goes to the loan schedule, there is a lot of flexibility when applying for secured home improvement loans and long repayment programs can be agreed. Unsecured ones do not allow such long repayment programs that can sometimes reach 15 years or more. Nevertheless, all depends on the applicant’s financial and credit situation.
The risk of repossession is not present on unsecured loans but the lender can still take legal action to recover his money as with any other type of loan. The only difference being that such actions would take a lot longer and would probably be far more expensive in terms of legal fees. Specific Differences
Secured Home Improvement Loans are awarded for a specific purpose. Any proved use that does not look like the original purpose can be cause for penalizations. Unsecured Home Improvement Loans, on the other side are nothing but personal unsecured loans. Thus, even though they may be promoted as home improvement loans, the use you actually give to the money does not concern the lender at all.
Also, since secured home improvement loans have that special purpose requirement, the lender may request you to provide documentation stating which improvements are going to be undertaken and will probably be more likely to approve those loans for home improvements that will raise the property’s value, thus increasing the equity on your home. This is due to the fact that any increase on the property’s value is an increase on the value of the asset guaranteeing the loan which benefits both the applicant and the lender.
Benefits of Secured Home Improvement Loans
Friday, May 28th, 2010Make your house more welcoming and comfortable to live. A heavenly abode, is not a distant dream any more. Online secured home improvement loans help you attain a complete make over of your house. Decision has to be made whether you want to do it yourself or get an expert help to do it. However if your project seems complicated and you donâ??t have much experience with your home improvements, it is best to leave it to the professionals. A budget includes setting aside an amount of money for any eventualities this includes mistakes, any accidental damage inflicted on your home and soon.
If the home improvement requires repairs that are beyond his expertise or skill, does he have qualified contacts to do this or do you want to start from scratch looking for another person to do this? Think, twice before you decide on any home improvement help.
How does Secured home improvement loan benefit you?
Such a home improvement loan will be secured against your home itself. A lender will make use of your house as a collateral which will assure him of your loan repayments on time. With this, you as a borrower will also be benefited as you will be lent a higher loan amount at lower interest rate in comparison to those who opt for unsecured home improvement loan. A lender would be more than willing to lend you a loan regardless of your poor credits too. Incase, your credit report reflects a bankruptcy, County Court Judgement, defaults on loan, a secured home improvement will help you overcome this stained credit status. With a collateral pledged, a lender will be care free about lending you loan despite of your poor credits, as he has the collateral to bank on, incase you default on your loan repayments.
Simply donâ??t hire the first person who shows up at your door step telling you he noticed that your home needs to be remodeled or repaired. Another pitfall that commonly causes any home improvement project to fail is not having searched efficiently.
What can you do with the help of a secured home improvement loan?
You can carry out the following with the help of home improvement loan:
Painting your homeSmaller or bigger repairs of homeAdding a new roomRedecorationAdding up a storeyGardenCreating your kids roomA swimming pool or a basket ball court etc.