Planning to renovate your home but worried about the renovation funds? LoanTube can help you get the required funds.
“Don’t move – improve!” In the last twenty years, house prices have soared beyond the reach of mortal men and women so those of us lucky enough to own a property are tending to stay put more than ever before. “Don’t move – improve!” has become more than just a slogan, it’s actually the name of a celebration of London’s most innovative and best home improvements and extensions – check out the 2019 winners!
What if you don’t have the money to carry out the renovations you want doing right now? In this article, the LoanTube team look at:
- what home improvement loans are
- what the most popular uses for home improvements are
- which home improvements can add to the value of your home
- do you need to put up your property as security to get a home improvement loan?
- how the LoanTube team help homeowners
Maximise your options: Compare and apply for loans below with LoanTube
Apply Filters
Loan AmountLoan Term1 Years — 20 YearsRepresentative APR6% — 1333%Loan Amount£250 — £100000Representative APR6% — 1333%Loan Term1 Years — 20 Years
Loan Amount
£4000 -
£20000
Norwich Trust
Loan Term
1 -
10 years
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.8/54.8/5
Representative APR
31.90%
Minimum Age
21 Years
Representative Example: £12,000 over 66 months, 31.9% APR fixed. Monthly payment £358.22 Annual interest rate 28.01% fixed. Interest payable £11,642.52. Total repayable £23,642.52.
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.8/54.8/5
Norwich Trust
Loan Amount
£4000 -
£20000
Loan Term
1 -
10 years
Representative APR
31.90%
Minimum Age
21 Years
Minimum Income
£2000 per month
Representative Example: £12,000 over 66 months, 31.9% APR fixed. Monthly payment £358.22 Annual interest rate 28.01% fixed. Interest payable £11,642.52. Total repayable £23,642.52.
Loan Amount
£5000 -
£100000
Evolution Money Loans
Loan Term
1 -
20 years
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/54.5/5
Representative APR
28.96%
Minimum Age
18 years
Representative Example: Loan Amount: £20950.00, Loan Term: 85 Months, Interest Rate: 23.00% PA Variable. Monthly Repayments: £537.44. Total Amount Repayable: £45,682.15. This example includes a Product Fee of £2,095.00 (10% of the loan amount) and a Lending Fee of £714.00
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.5/54.5/5
Evolution Money Loans
Loan Amount
£5000 -
£100000
Loan Term
1 -
20 years
Representative APR
28.96%
Minimum Age
18 years
Minimum Income
Not mentioned
Representative Example: Loan Amount: £20950.00, Loan Term: 85 Months, Interest Rate: 23.00% PA Variable. Monthly Repayments: £537.44. Total Amount Repayable: £45,682.15. This example includes a Product Fee of £2,095.00 (10% of the loan amount) and a Lending Fee of £714.00
Loan Amount
£1000 -
£10000
1Plus1 Guarantor Loans
Loan Term
1 -
5 years
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.4/54.4/5
Representative APR
39.90%
Minimum Age
18 years
Representative Example: Borrowing £3000 over 36 months with a representative APR of 39.9% (variable),the amount payable would be £134.21 a month,with a total cost of credit of £1831.56 and a total amount payable of £4831.56.
☆☆☆☆☆ 4.4/54.4/5
1Plus1 Guarantor Loans
Loan Amount
£1000 -
£10000
Loan Term
1 -
5 years
Representative APR
39.90%
Minimum Age
18 years
Minimum Income
Not mentioned
Representative Example: Borrowing £3000 over 36 months with a representative APR of 39.9% (variable),the amount payable would be £134.21 a month,with a total cost of credit of £1831.56 and a total amount payable of £4831.56.
What is a home improvement loan?
- Home improvement loans are taken out by homeowners with the specific intention of spending the money on projects to update, extend, or refresh either their entire property or specific areas of their property.
- Because home improvement projects are generally very expensive, it’s not uncommon that many homeowners do not have the money available in savings to pay for work to be carried out all in one go. Replacing your boiler might cost £2,500 and getting a conservatory may cost £8,000 or more – that’s a lot of money to find.
- By spreading the cost of the work over a year or more, you can get the work done now and then repay your home improvement loan company back each month over a timescale you agree in advance.
What are the most popular uses for home improvement loans?
According to Which, the most popular types of home improvement in the UK are:
- Getting a new bathroom (39%)
- New kitchen installation (38%)
- Installing a new boiler or central heating system (34%)
- Having a garden make-over (26%)
- Installing double glazing (26%)
- Building an extension (17%)
- Knocking through rooms (12%)
- Fitting solar panels (12%)
- Getting a loft conversion (10%)
- Adding an extra bedroom (9%)
But which are the home improvements which get the very best returns for homeowners when they actually come to sell up?
Home improvements can add to the value of your home
If you’ve made the positive decision to stay in your own home rather than move, any home improvements you undertake will greatly improve the enjoyment (and sometimes space) you derive from your home. In addition, when the time does come to sell, the improvements you’ve carried out will likely lock in a higher sale price when your buyer makes an offer.
Towergate Insurance carried out a study in 2018 on the difference to house prices that home improvements make. Assuming a house price of £150,000, Towergate’s online calculator assumes the following increases in property prices according to home improvements undertaken:
| Job | % house price increase | Average cost | Increase in house price | Profit |
| Convert garage into a spare room | 20% | £15,450 | £30,000 | £14,550 |
| Energy saving – cavity walls, double glazing, solar panels | 14% | £10,720 | £21,000 | £10,280 |
| Make kitchen and dining room open plan | 6% | £2,100 | £9,000 | £6,900 |
| Repainting, rendering, repointing outside | 10% | £9,500 | £15,000 | £5,500 |
| Convert loft into a new room | 15% | £17,500 | £22,500 | £5,000 |
| Modern central heating system installation | 5% | £3,225 | £8,100 | £4,875 |
| Paint/decorate in neutral colours | 5% | £2,850 | £7,500 | £4,650 |
| Install self-lighting/woodburning fireplace | 5% | £3,500 | £7,500 | £4,000 |
| Garden landscaping but keeping house not overlooked | 8% | £7,650 | £11,250 | £3,600 |
| Adding extra or en suite bathroom | 5% | £4,250 | £7,500 | £3,250 |
| Outdoor decking | 3% | £2,175 | £4,500 | £2,325 |
| Updated kitchen with modern appliances | 6% | £8,000 | £9,000 | £1,000 |
| Adding a conservatory | 5% | £7,000 | £7,500 | £500 |
| Carpets cleaned or exposure of hardwood flor | 3% | £4,000 | £4,500 | £500 |
| Replace worn-out roof/flat roof with pitched roof | 3% | £4,150 | £4,500 | £350 |
| Adding an extra storey | 11% | £20,000 | £16,500 | -£3,500 |
On all but one of the home improvements considered, once the average cost of the work and materials has been taken place, householders would see an increase in the value of their property – sometimes quite a considerable jump.
The above figures have been extrapolated using statistics from Towergate Insurance.
Home improvement loans without the need to put up your home
- In this article, we use the word “homeowner” a lot – that’s only because the vast majority of tenants would be disinclined to spend £1,000s improving a property that belongs to someone else.
- However, home improvement loans are not like mortgages in that you have to put up your home as security to take one out. Most home improvement loans are unsecured meaning that, should you fall into financially challenging times and fail to keep up your repayments, you won’t lose your property.
- Home improvement loans in London tend to be for higher amounts than home improvement loans in the rest of UK simply because the cost of labour is higher in London. London homeowners will almost certainly have to borrow more money to have the same work done as someone in the Midlands.
Compare bad credit home improvement loans
- There are dozens of lenders offering unsecured home improvement loans in the UK – some lenders specialise and will only work with borrowers with great credit records while there are also many more who specialise and will only work with borrowers who have had problems with their credit history in the past.
- Here at LoanTube, our job is to find you the very best lender offering the lowest rates and most amenable terms for you.
- It’s because we work so closely with our lenders that we can match borrower so well with them. Once you let us know how much you need to borrow, and how long you need to borrow it, we get to work. We take your details and then match you up to the lender most likely to say “yes” to your application based upon your credit history, your current financial circumstances, and more.
- What we do is completely free of charge and our systems work so quickly that you’ll receive an indicative answer within minutes of sending us your details.
To start your application, please click here.
