Saturday, January 12, 2008

Improve your home with caution

Gracy writes:

Many people keep on saving money so that they can build a home of their dreams. If you are already a homeowner, you might well have plans to improve your home and raise your standard of living. Very often, people find that home improvement is not an easy task especially when their old home requires a lot to be done. A limited budget is often cited by the homeowners as a reason for holding their home improvement plans.

If you are interested in carrying out home improvements, some precautions should be taken. All plans regarding remodelling and expansion of your home have to meet the required sanction of the local councils. You should take care that all the necessary sanctions have been taken before executing any home improvement plan.

Any liability or expenses incurred before taking sanction may prove costly if, later on, the concerned authority refuses to approve your plan. It is always better to exercise precaution than regret later on.

Another precaution that a homeowner should take when improving home is regarding the home insurance clauses. As is obvious, do-it-yourself home improvement is very popular among the UK residents but this type of home improvement may violate some of the clauses of your home insurance policy. You are required to check with the insurance company that what types of DIY home improvements will not violate the insurance policy in respect of your home. If you do not take care regarding this aspect, the insurance company might refuse to compensate in case of any loss arising during the home improvement process. As far as funds required for home improvement is concerned, you can always pledge your home and take homeowner loans of upto £250,000. Of course, the loan amount will depend on many factors like loan-to-value ratio, lender’s policy and your credit rating.

Secured homeowner loans are secured against your home and this may lead to repossession if you fail to repay the loan instalments in time. To avoid taking such a risk, many people prefer taking unsecured homeowner loans. These loans do not require any security and are quickly available. The interest rate may be a little bit higher compared to the cases where you have to provide a security. Almost all types of loans are available on the Internet and the best part is that the online lenders process your loan application quite quickly. Before taking any loan offer, you can also consult an independent financial adviser so that the best possible decision can be made.

The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. She has done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting Loans-Bazaar as a finance specialist. For more information visit on Bad Credit Loans visit www.loans-bazaar.co.uk

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