So you want to improve your home? Well making the first step of deciding to do so is a great way to go but then the next big question arises how do you intend to pay for it? Home improvement isn’t cheap which means that you need to figure out the vast world of home improvement financing.

The first step to figuring out home improvement financing is to figure out what you want to do with your house. Are you just going to remodel one room or are you going to install an Olympic sized backyard pool? What kind of debt do you willing to go into? POnce you have answered these questions, it’s time to start looking at what options are available to you.

Loans and Options

For small jobs that will only cost a couple of hundred dollars, experts agree that you’re best just paying for it yourself with a credit card, but bigger jobs are more complex. There are many different ways to finance a larger job:

• The first major option is to look into a home equity loan. With these loans you don’t have to sell your house and as long as it falls within the proper limits, you can write off the interest on your taxes. A home equity loan generally requires that you hire a licensed contractor - this means you can't do the work on your own. Do It Yourself projects have more trouble finding home improvement financing.
• Another option, for some home owners, is to take some money out of your company’s 401K plan. The downside to this plan is that if you leave the company you’ll have to pay back the loan in full within five years or pay what can be up to 30% in early withdrawal penalties.
• You can to borrow from your life insurance for home improvement financing. Some plans allow you to borrow up to 96% of your policy and only have to pay the interest which leads to a very low rate for you. It is possible though that taking out a loan such as this will lessen your death benefits should you die before the loan if paid off. This increases the risks to your family.

There are still other options out there for you to look at. For example, stock portfolios and title 1 loans - make sure you shop around and find out what will work best for you.

Warnings

Always remember to settle your home improvement loan first and never go with the lender that a contractor suggests to you - a commission from that lender to your contractor could lead to you paying hidden fees until you’re too old to enjoy your remodeled home!

In an ideal world, banks would easily give home improvement financing without any thought in the world on how and when you’d pay them back and you could enjoy your dream home. Then again, if this were an ideal world that Olympic sized swimming pool would’ve been included in your backyard when you bought the place at no extra charge! In the real world, we have to manage our budgets, carefully weighing up our different options for our own specific circumstances.