With Easter just around the corner, now is a great time to start planning those home improvements you’ve been waiting to make. With our roads notoriously busy and holidays extremely pricey, the Easter break is the ideal opportunity to roll up your sleeves and get that much-needed DIY done!
The best types of home improvements
There are a number of improvements that can help to increase the value of your house. Looking at similar properties in the local area will give you an idea of what changes you can make and what effect these could have on the value.
Several types of improvements can add extra room space to your house, such as a loft conversion, basement room, extension, cloakroom or shower room.
The more obvious improvements, such as a conservatory and upgrading the kitchen and bathrooms can also add value. But it’s important to look at the cost alongside what extra value might be added.
For any building and electrical work carried out make sure you get all of the correct paperwork including planning permissions and works guarantees to help facilitate any future sale of the property.
A 2017 survey conducted by Which.co.uk showed the top 10 most common home improvements as;
- Installing a new boiler or central heating system
- Having a garden make-over
- Installing double glazing
- Building an extension
- Knocking through rooms
- Fitting solar panels
- Getting a loft conversion
- Adding an extra bedroom
Financing your home improvements
Because major upgrades to your property can cost a lot of money, look at the cost of borrowing and how much you can afford to pay back each month. Two common ways to finance larger-scale improvements are remortgaging or taking out a second loan secured on your home. With interest rates being generally low at the moment, these two options are worth costing out and Clever Mortgages can help find the right deal for you from our comprehensive range of lenders. If you want to get an idea as to how much you could borrow, access our Mortgage Calculator.
If you’re looking to remortgage then check there are no early repayment charges (ERCs) for repaying your current mortgage and taking out a new one with a new lender. These charges are often applied during, and sometimes for a few years beyond, a special offer period. The new mortgage will need to cover this cost and the home improvements, but you’ll need enough equity in the property to do this.
If you have ERCs in force, then a second charge could be the best option as it could can be taken out without affecting your current mortgage. It could also have a different term so you can plan when you want to pay it off. If you are looking to make some changes to your home and increase its value, either to sell it in the future or for the quality of life, our experts can guide you through the process.
Remortgaging or taking out a second charge may be good solutions for some customers – however, they’re not suitable for everyone. It’s important to consider the long-term costs of raising funds in these ways, which can easily be reviewed with the assistance of an expert mortgage adviser. If you need to borrow a smaller amount of money you may be better off considering an unsecured product.
