Financing Home Remodeling Projects

 

residential wood framing remodeling

Most of us never counted on the work-from-home situation lasting as long as it has. We never intended for the nice-to-have home office to suddenly become a critical space where we need to make conference calls with clients, collaborate with team members, or make important decisions that can decide the future of a business.

The global pandemic has forced a paradigm shift in the way people look at their homes and space within, and in a lot of cases, people just made do. From DIY spare room conversions to working in the garage, people across the country were quick to scrounge for space wherever they could find it or build it where none had existed previously. According to a recent study by NerdWallet, nearly 34% of people who had home renovation work done did so earlier than planned too because they either had free time during the pandemic or couldn't afford to wait. Either way, contractors for home remodeling jobs noticed a healthy uptick in business, as did companies that provided loans for home remodeling.

According to the same NerdWallet poll, seven percent of the people who have had home remodeling work done since March 1st, had paid for it through either a home equity loan or a line of credit. While tapping into your home's equity can be considered as a more accessible or low-cost way to fund your renovation project, it's slow to build up, meaning you'll have to wait for quite a while before you can have enough funds to start the project.

There are other means of funding home remodeling or home renovation projects, however. As one of the most well-respected contractors for home remodeling in Western Massachusetts, we've worked with clients who have used many of the options mentioned below.

worker safety during projects

 

Dip into savings

By far, the most common way we have seen our clients pay for home remodeling projects is by dipping into their savings or through their regular salaried or checking accounts. As a business owner, this is the method that we recommend by a country mile since it (a) keeps you honest with what you can genuinely afford to get done and (b) keeps you out of debt.

 

Put in on the Credit Card

Using your credit card to pay for home remodeling projects is sort of a double-edged sword. Yes, the funds are instantly available; however, most credit cards have high-interest rates, making them one of the most expensive options to finance a remodeling project. If you're careful, though, there is a way to make the system work for you, which we have seen some clients employ to great effect. This process entails (a) making sure the credit card you're using has a good rewards mechanism - might as well make up the expenditure in points that you can redeem later. And (b) setting up an automated system with your bank to make the payments in full by using either your savings or your monthly salary. These two steps ensure that you'll always have the funds needed to complete the remodel. Your creditworthiness improves through timely payments in full. And you avoid the card's interest charges. Win-Win.

 

Opt for a Personal Loan

While not as expensive as using a credit card, using a personal loan to fund home remodeling projects has a significant disadvantage. You will most certainly end up paying it back for more than a few years. Still, it is a lot easier and quicker to get a personal loan than tapping into your home's equity, so it is a viable option we've seen some of our clients opt for.

 

Conclusion

Deciding which route is ultimately the best depends entirely on the need, the situation, and your financial health. Whether it's staying on budget when building a house or figuring out how to pay for an addition to your existing home, we want our customers to be as informed as possible and learn as much as they can from our nearly 20 years in the business.