Making upgrades, repairs, and other improvements to your home can increase its value significantly. Some may even be necessary to ensure safety for your family or allow older people to stay in their homes. There are many programs that can provide homeowner funding for that next project if you don’t have the cash to fund it yourself, especially when it’s a major expense like a kitchen remodel which HomeAdvisor reports can range anywhere from $5,000 to over $125,000.

You Won’t Have to Pay Out of Pocket

One of the biggest problems with any big home improvement project is the cost required to do it correctly. Many people can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars, but there are homeowner funding options that can allow you to get the work done without having to fork out the cash. If you were thinking about a credit card, that can be one of the worst options due to the high interest rates. Your card might not let you spend as much as you need either, making it difficult or impossible for those larger projects. With homeowner funding you can get the amount you need and pay it back later, usually through a monthly payment plan with much lower interest than a personal loan or credit card.

You Might Not Have to Pay It Back At All

In some cases, you may not have to pay the funds you receive back at all. There are dozens of government-sponsored home improvement grants that provide funds to homeowners for making certain updates to their properties, and these aren’t loans which means you don’t have to pay the money back. When looking into homeowner funding, you can find out if you might qualify. Of course, not every homeowner or every project will. Many of these grants are designed for making specific improvements to ensure the home is livable, safe, accessible, and non-hazardous to those who live there, and the community.

Qualifications vary by grant. For the most part, requirements pertain to the location, the projects and the homeowner’s income. Just like when applying for a mortgage, you’ll have to provide documentation that proves your income, and may need to provide the estimated costs of the project, assessments of your home’s conditions, and financial need. Grants are usually very limited in number with only a few select homeowners chosen

You Can Use the Funds For Any Home Improvement Project

When you receive homeowner funding, other than a grant, the home improvement projects you take on are decided by you. You can fund anything from a bathroom remodel to insulation.

The Increased Value of Your Home Might Make Paying the Loan Interest Worth It

Unless you qualify for a grant or another type of government program, to receive funding you’ll need to take out a home improvement loan. For a secured home improvement loan, you’ll have to provide some type of collateral so that the lender can ensure it will be paid off in full. With unsecured loans, you won’t have to put up collateral but they tend to be much more difficult to qualify for. One of the most important factors you’ll want to think about is whether or not the interest you’ll pay on the loan is worth the increased value the improvement adds to your home.

If you have a good credit score and can get a low interest rate, you might come out ahead. Of course, if your score isn’t perfect and you need to get the work done to make your home liveable, you might want to consider it even if the interest rate is a bit higher. If your credit score is fair to poor (under 670), you might not be approved and if you are, the interest rate is likely to be very high. That means that it could be more beneficial to work on raising your score and waiting on that home improvement project if the repairs aren’t urgent.