Best way to finance house improvements

Fedcas65

Hello,

the last year I made the biggest step, buying a house when it’s the worst time ever 😅.
I’ve spent money on it but it never ends and it just compromises my living inside, so I need a financing option for decoration, conservatorium, some bathroom upgrade etc.

Unfortunately it’s only one year I own the debt, and I’ve also got a loan for a car recently, based on this situation, what’s the best option?
Personal loan?
Home improvement loan? Interests are high, but in what other ways I can finance something so expensive for a little sum monthly?

I could go ahead with a credit card, but not every business accepts credit cards and everything will be done in about 24 months, considering the high sums involved.
This is my expectation but surely it can be worse, especially if any life change will be on the way, which means I’ll never do that in the next 5y…

Thanks for any help.

Mark_d

So your house needs a lot of work doing but you chose to take a loan an invest in a not-so-cheap car?  With your credit commitments (loan + mortgage) you're unlikely to find anyone who will lend you a lot of money at a cheap rate.

Assuming you've got a great credit history and ample disposable income, you could get a 24 month balance transfer credit card.  These sometimes let you transfer the money to your current account (as opposed to another credit card) though there is often a one-off fee of maybe 3%.  If you can repay the amount within 2 years then your interest rate is equivalent to 1.5% per year

eschaton

Currently everything you’re buying or wanting to do is with credit. 

I’d advise to start building up a savings fund for your home. If you can afford a loan, save that money. 

It’ll build up quickly and you can earn interest instead of paying it. 

I’ve built up a £33.6k home improvement fund. It started with £10k from only putting up to £136 aside every month when my mortgage dropped below the 4% floor in 2010. It later contributed £5200 to a new car and then £4k for my first mortgage overpayment. Make that £300pm and your savings will grow very quick. 

If it was me I’d also review your car situation. I stopped borrowing for cars when I took out my first mortgage. Buy what you can afford and save £000’s in interest. You’ll be on the right track when you think of how much money you’ll lose in interest by buying a new car. 

Myci85

I think I would question yourself as to whether the improvements are a want or a need at this point, as clearly you can't afford them. We also bought our first house last year, there are loads of things we would like to do 'one day', but right now we can't afford them, so we are making do. 

Everyone tells me that the first 5 years of home ownership are the hardest, and then hopefully the effects of salary increase compared to mortgage payments make things feel a little easier. So I figure that may be the point at which we look at what we can afford to do. Currently I'm just focused on building up an emergency fund.