{"id":1664,"date":"2022-05-31T18:40:18","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T18:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/?p=1664"},"modified":"2022-05-31T18:40:18","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T18:40:18","slug":"is-borrowing-more-on-your-mortgage-to-fund-renovations-a-good-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/is-borrowing-more-on-your-mortgage-to-fund-renovations-a-good-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Is borrowing more on your mortgage to fund renovations a good idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/thumbor.forbes.com\/thumbor\/fit-in\/900x510\/https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/uk\/advisor\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/borrow-more.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"505\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Undertaking a home improvement project can be really expensive. But home improvements are also an excellent investment, as they can boost your quality of life and add value to your property. With that in mind, what\u2019s the best way to fund home improvement projects? Below, we explore some of the options available to you to help you make up your mind. <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Can you pay for home improvements by borrowing extra money on your mortgage? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">Borrowing extra money on a mortgage is a common way of funding home improvement projects. This is particularly the case for projects including loft conversions, new kitchens or bathrooms, or renovating a certain area of your house. You can contact your mortgage provider and negotiate the best way to borrow additional money to fund home improvements, and it\u2019s a relatively easy way to access the capital that you need. However, there are some issues you need to think about before remortgaging: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s often expensive &#8211; you are likely to be locked into a specific term and will face fees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">You will need sufficient equity in your home to be approved. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">You could end up paying more interest on your mortgage if it puts you in a higher LTV bracket. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">As well as remortgaging you to fund home improvements, there are two other options available to you as far as borrowing against the value of your home is concerned: <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Further advance <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">You can apply to your mortgage provider for a further advance, and the money that you borrow is repayable at a different rate of interest. While you can\u2019t get an advance from all lenders, they\u2019re often more straightforward than remortgaging, and they\u2019re often cheaper. In most instances, you will need a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of less than 85% to be approved. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><i>Second charge mortgage <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">In this instance, you\u2019re actually taking out a second mortgage with a new lender. Therefore, you will have two mortgages to repay at the same time. It\u2019s known as the \u2018second charge\u2019 because of security. If you fail to repay the second mortgage, the lender can take your property and sell it to recover the money owed. You will need to have significant equity in your home to be eligible for a second-charge mortgage, but it\u2019s a worthwhile consideration for some people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Is borrowing extra money on your mortgage a smart move? <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">While borrowing additional money on a mortgage is a viable option for some people, it won\u2019t be ideal for all homeowners. Here are some things you need to think about: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\">\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">Can you afford the monthly repayments? If you fail to make the stipulated monthly repayments on your mortgage, your home is at risk. So, make sure you only borrow what you\u2019re confident enough to pay back. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">Is it the cheapest way to borrow money? Mortgage debt is repaid at a low rate of interest, but you repay it over a long period of time. In other words, the interest payments can add up if you don\u2019t do your sums, and it might not be the cheapest way to borrow money. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">Can I remortgage right now? If you\u2019re in a fixed-rate mortgage, it will be expensive to switch deals, and you will be faced with an early repayment charge. So, make sure it makes financial sense to remortgage your home before diving in. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li3\"><span class=\"s1\">Is there enough equity in my home? As you know, banks won\u2019t lend you the full amount for a home and require a deposit before approving your application. Your loan to value ratio is important, and most banks won\u2019t approve a loan with an LTV above 90%. You should also be mindful of the fact that, as your LTV rises, so do your mortgage rate. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>An alternative to borrowing more money on your mortgage <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">If you don\u2019t want to borrow more money on your mortgage, a home improvement loan is a viable alternative. It\u2019s a type of unsecured personal loan, and if you\u2019re looking to borrow less than \u00a320,000 to fund your project, it\u2019s a great option to think about. Although personal loans come with higher interest rates than mortgages, the fact that they\u2019re repaid over a shorter period of time often makes them a cheaper form of credit. Also, personal loan fees are often non-existent or extremely low. Another good thing about personal loans is that they\u2019re unsecured, meaning your home won\u2019t be at risk. The biggest drawback of personal loans is that they\u2019re normally capped at around the \u00a320,000 mark, meaning they won\u2019t be ideal for all home improvement projects. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\">If you\u2019re looking to borrow money to fund a home improvement project, get started with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koyoloans.com\/\"><span class=\"s3\">Koyo Loans\u2019 loan calculator<\/span><\/a> to work out how much you can borrow today. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Undertaking a home improvement project can be really expensive. But home improvements are also an excellent investment, as they can boost your quality of life and add value to your property. With that in mind, what\u2019s the best way to fund home improvement projects? Below, we explore some of the options available to you to &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/is-borrowing-more-on-your-mortgage-to-fund-renovations-a-good-idea\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Is borrowing more on your mortgage to fund renovations a good idea?&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1664"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1665,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1664\/revisions\/1665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unitedfinances.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}