Unbeatable rates on Mortgages, Refinancing, Home Equity, HELOCs and Personal Loans

Home improvement financing helps you pay for your remodeling projects or expensive home repairs. With the required loan funds, you can even pay your remodeling contractor or buy supplies to complete the project.

And, you get to pay the loan off over an agreed-upon loan term, with the best interest rates. That's why, a home improvement loan is a boon if you don't have sufficient cash to pay upfront for any major home improvement expenses.

Keep in mind that making any upgrades to your home is usually a wise investment as it adds to its resale value significantly, apart from enhancing its comfort, style, and looks.

And that's when a home improvement loan comes in handy - giving you financial assistance if you're unable to afford big property projects on your own. You can take the help of a good home renovation loan calculator such as Kukun's free online tool to analyze your exact financial situation.

And, most renovations are pricey. For example, the average kitchen remodel cost across the United States is more than $23,000. The average bathroom remodel costs around $21,000. And, a 16 x 20-foot wooden deck could cost you more than $14,000.

Your access to the best loans out there depends on your home's value to a large extent. The more home equity you have, the better are your chances to get favorable loans and interest rates. You can utilize a home equity loan calculator to find out what your house is worth.

When you're looking for home improvement financing, the first step is to look for the best loan options by comparing the interest rates, fees, loan terms, and other factors.

A home equity loan, a home equity line of credit (HELOC), or a personal loan are some of the possibilities. A reliable HELOC calculator aka a HELOC payment calculator will come in handy to make your decision easier.

Apart from these common types of home improvement loans, there are other options such as a cash-out refinance, government-backed loans, and funding through credit unions and online loan lenders.

For minor projects such as wall painting, using a credit card might work but for larger projects, you may want to consider the above loan home improvement financing options.

The bottom line is that the type of loan you choose depends on your financial situation, the estimated home value, and the scale of your home improvement project.

Fortunately today, homeowners looking to cover their home improvement costs have a lot of choices. We'll help you identify some of the best financing choices that will save you the most money.

If you have a good credit score, getting a home improvement loan is not such a grueling task. Moreover, an excellent credit score means that you could benefit from lower interest rates and better offers. And, you get to choose how long you want to take to pay back the loan.

Here are a few steps that you can follow to start the loan process:

The best way to renovate a house without spending much money is to become resourceful and only buy materials that add more value than their cost.

Keeping the renovation costs low is as crucial for a homeowner as it's for a real estate investor who's flipping homes. The last thing a flipper would want is to go over budget and erode their bottom line.

A home improvement loan with bad credit is always more challenging than when you have a flawless score. Most lenders have a minimum credit score requirement - usually 620 and more. However, government-backed loans such as the 203(k) loans or VA loans have a minimum score requirement of just 500. So, you still stand a chance with bad credit. Also, there are some bad credit home improvement loans and personal loans available on the market. You have to do some solid research and apply for them.

Keep in mind that your loan application may come through more quickly if you have good equity in your home.

A cash-out refinance is a type of mortgage refinancing that enables you to cash out your home equity. That is to say, in a cash-out refinance, your current mortgage is replaced by a new one, usually with better terms and conditions.

The new mortgage exceeds the previous mortgage balance, and the excess is paid to you in cash. And hence the name cash-out refinance.

The advantage of a cash-out refinance is that you might be able to decrease your monthly mortgage payments, lower your interest rate, renegotiate the periodic loan conditions, add or remove borrowers from the loan obligation, and access cash from the equity in your house.

Simply put, you can pay off your current primary mortgage with a cash-out refinance and pocket the difference.

When you want to replace your existing home loan with a new one because it's getting you better rates and terms, it's called mortgage refinancing. A majority of borrowers seek to refinance in order to get a more favorable interest rate, reduce the monthly payments, or shorten the mortgage term. The procedure to apply for refinancing is the same as applying for any other loan.

It entails a detailed examination of your credit score, income, work history, and financial situation. Moreover, a home appraisal is ordered by the lender to determine the current market value of your house as well as the amount of equity you have in it.

A homeowners' decisions to refinance a mortgage vary depending on situations that make financial sense to them. Some of these reasons include:

• 1. Aiming for a lower interest rate after improving credit score or lowering debt-to-income ratio.
• 2. Reducing monthly payments.
• 3. Changing their adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) with a variable rate to a more stable fixed-rate loan. This step makes the mortgage payments more predictable and usually more affordable.
• 4. Utilizing home equity through a cash-out refinance where you get to pocket the difference in cash by replacing your existing mortgage with a new one.
• 5. Getting a borrower's name off the home mortgage. For example, removing a spouse's name in the case of a divorce.
• 6. Eliminating FHA mortgage insurance. If you, as a borrower of an FHA loan (insured by the Federal Housing Administration) attain 20% equity in your home, refinancing into a conventional mortgage will help you get rid of annual mortgage premium payments.

During refinancing, your previous loan is paid off using the borrowed funds for your new loan. You can also seek a cash-out refinance, which allows you to borrow money against your home's equity and take out a percentage of the difference between what you owe and what it's worth now.

However, keep in mind that most loan lenders have a cap on cash-out refinancing - usually about 80 percent of your home's total value.

You can utilize the money you get against your home equity to pay off any high-interest debt or renovate your home to add to its value.

Refinancing may provide you with a long-term profit but it does come with its upfront fees. These fees are usually the same as the ones you paid at the time of getting your original loan. Some of them include:

• Mortgage application fee
• Loan origination fees
• Appraisal fee
• Title search fees
• Escrow costs for property taxes
• Homeowners insurance

And of course the fees for document recording and credit checks. The final closing costs will depend on the loan type, the new loan amount, the interest rate, your debt-to-income ratio, the current tax rate, and your credit score. Make sure to look for a reliable lender who offers you a competitive interest rate and the lowest fees.