Home improvement loans
How do you pick the best home improvement loan to finance your home improvements.
Beware home improvemnet loans secured on your property as this means if you are unable to keep up your repayments you could lose your home.
The best value for money unsecured home improvement loans with the best prices are provided by Barclays and Hitachi through the national home improvement companies.
You will find the APR’s will vary however given this is based on making a minimum payment over 10 years and factors in late payment and default costs they do appear to be high but in actual fact the actual net rate of interest you pay back is very low.
The best advise is to forget all about APR’s and monthly interest rates as these are all smoke and mirrors to confuse you.
All you need to know is how much am I borrowing, how long am I borrowing it for and once all the discounts and cash backs are factored in how much interest will I be paying, then you can actually compare one loan option with another over your preferred time period.
Advantages to this type of unsecured loan over a bank / building / supermarket society loan are as follows:-
1. You control the repayment amount, as long as you pay the minimum payment you have flexibility to pay in lump sums or top up amounts to reduce your repayment term and the amount of interest due. Ideal to give you some flexibility for those unexpected bills or a short term reduction in income.
2. Cheaper interest than using your credit card if your looking to repay over a 24 to 48+ months.
3. Some home improvement loans offer cash back that can be reinvested back into your loan and reduce your balance by more than the value of your cheque.
4. This type of unsecure loan has to cover the guarantees provided by your home improvement company, you will not get this type of protection from a typical high street loan. Particularily relevant if your home improvement company ever goes bust.
5. Home improvement loans offered by the national companies typically offer a better or similiar price to paying cash if you repay your loan within 24 months as it is cheaper for the likes of Barclays and Hitachi to give you a discount than advertise to find your business.
6. By using a home improvement loan you pay a lower deposit than cash therefore you have less risk before you see the installation of you double glazing, conservatory etc. You also have another 30 days after install to check your happy with everything before you make your first repayment.
