The idea has been simmering for a while, and now you’re finally making it happen. If you’re thinking about a home improvement project in the coming months, we don’t doubt you will have put in a lot of effort into it already.
And that’s always a good start. However, increasingly we find ourselves with loan applications to pay for home improvement projects that are half way through; to pay for unexpected costs.
The culprit is almost always the lack of precise planning beforehand (we like having a friendly chat with our customers). While home improvement projects are often a major investment of time and money but, surprisingly, many of us don’t seem to warrant enough thought into planning for the project beforehand.
With all the home improvement blogs on the internet, ideas/inspiration is plenty for us to get excited. With all the DIY inspiration on the internet it is easy to lose focus on the most crucial aspect: planning. This is particularly true for those who have never taken up a project before.
Guarantor My Loan is all about making a smarter choice with money, including those for home improvement projects. So here are three handy tips, based on our experience with customers, to assist planning in advance for your home improvement project.
1. What help will I need?
DIY is the buzzword these days, but not everyone will always be up to the task considering the complexity/size of some projects and lack of experience. It is important for you to sit down and have a good think about the time, patience and skills required for the DIY project.
Do you have them (be honest with yourself)? If yes, great! However, it’s always good to have planned for a back up, which also includes thinking about how to budget for them.
If you are not entirely sure you’re up for the task, think about what/what you will need moving forward. Will you need to hire tradesmen for a particular job? If so, have you allowed for the same in your budget? Have you compared/enquired about the best tradesmen in the area and calculated the costs involved? One handy tip here is to insist on quotes for the job, rather than rely on estimates.
These will help you plan in advance, and at least will let you have that peace of mind that much is already accounted for.
2. Talk to people
There are plenty of reviews online, whether they are for products/supplies or tradesmen. In fact, the P2P space might interest you, have you checked out TaskRabbit? You are likely to find many such online forums, blogs and review websites to help you make a well-informed decision.
If you are still in doubt, interact with people on these forums and ask about their experiences. You might surprise yourself at how much you can learn from others in your home improvement project planning.
3. How will you pay for your project?
Help with home improvements are plenty but they, or the projects themselves, can cost you more than you would like. It’s not always possible to use your savings and therefore you may find yourself in the market looking to borrow.
This is one of the most crucial aspects of planning your project- how do you plan to finance your home improvement, and repaying your loan.
In this situation it’s even more important for you to work out the full cost of your home improvement project, and ascertain whether you can afford them- this will help you ascertain and borrow just how much you need. If you are able to afford the repayment, that’s great, but planning is only conducive once you have worked out a repayment plan, before you borrow.
Ask yourself, honestly, because you understand your own circumstances the best.
Your lender may be able to help with advice and we advise the use of a loan calculator available on lender websites.
It is important for you to understand that borrowing without reasoned planned in advance can prove your project very costly going forward, and can inflict damage to your credit record if you cannot repay your loan.
Ask yourself whether you have planned thoroughly yet? Have you covered all aspects likely to affect you during the course of the project? Have you accounted for all the costs and have accurate projections? Have you been realistic in drawing up your plans, particularly those to finance your project?
By no means is this post meant to scare or put you off taking on that project in the pipeline. Rather we are taking this as an opportunity to highlight how easily your dream home improvement plans can come to life with some planning in advance; without the fuss and worries of unexpected costs.
Of course, a lot comes with experience, and that’s where you can rely on those of others. However, some thorough planning in advance will put you in a much better place with your home improvement project.
Have any experiences to share with us?
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Guarantormyloan is the only direct lender in UK offering one month’s equivalent as cashback to the guarantor if your first 12 monthly instalments of your loan are paid on time and in full. Learn more about our guarantor loans here and about our loan cashback here.