Posts Tagged ‘bad credit’

Bad Credit Home Improvement Loan Guide

Thinking of any of the bad credit loans for home improvement available but unsure what to do first and where you should start?  Have bad credit so how can you get a decent loan?

What many of you do not realize is there are quite a few lenders out there who are willing to offer bad credit home improvement loans, they use your home equity or other type of real estate equity to help determine an amount to loan you with no extra collateral needed.

You can use the bad credit home improvement loan to make well needed repairs to your house or other property, add on, redecorate a room or two.

You key in getting one of these loans is just knowing where to apply and what the lenders are looking at when you do apply.

Find a place to apply

There are finance companies, banks and other types of lenders who will offer bad credit home improvement loans.

Quite a few of the lenders actually advertise the fact that they give the bad credit home improvement loans in local newspapers, on radio ads, television commercials.  However, don’t let the flashy ads fool you into choosing their business first.  They might just be charging you a little extra in financing fees or interest rates to help them get back some of those higher advertising rates they are paying.

One of the best places to start you search is a credit union or bank where you may have had previous accounts.

Being you are a return customer they may even give you a break on your interest rates.  Again, do not take the 1st offer that comes your way, unless you are 100% sure you can not beat it anywhere else.  Otherwise continue your search.

Get about 4 or 5 quotes for the bad credit home improvement loan and then compare them, then make you decision as to which one would best suit your needs.

Borrowing against your equity

The bad credit home improvement loan is based on your borrowed amount off the equity in your real estate or home, that is the amount you mortgage or your home loan that you have paid off.  If you have 100% equity, you own your home or property outright.  If you have 30% it means your bank or other lender has the lien or a legal claim to the property and you have paid off 30% of what you borrowed when you originally purchased it.

More equity, more money the lenders will be able to lend you when applying for your bad credit home improvement loan.

Even though bad credit can hold a stigma that will sometimes take you years to remove, it can sometimes be as short as three months to rid yourself of the debts.

Start by paying off as much as you can on your outstanding debts before you start to shop for other loans, make all your payments promptly.  This will help show the lenders that you are serious about getting your credit back inline and allow them to feel more secure about lending you money for the bad credit improvement loan.

How to Refinance Your Home If You Have Bad Credit

Refinancing your home is still a possibility, even if you do not have perfect credit.  Sometimes it will help your bad credit especially if you are refinancing so that you can pay off other debt.  There are a few things that you are going to need to keep in mind before you get bad credit refinance help.  First you will need to know the value of your house currently. Then you should keep in mind that if you had better credit when you purchased your home, the interest rate will likely increase.  Therefore you should definitely talk to your financial institution.  They may have an option for you.

When you are determining the value for your house it is best to get a professional appraisal.  Then will be able to access accurately the current value of your house including any improvements that have been made.  If you purchased your home when the housing market was up in value the home may actually be worth less than what you paid for it.  In this case most financial institutions will only let you borrow up to 125% of the value of the home.

If your interest rate does go up this could cost you thousands of dollars over the life of your loan.  There are certain options that you do have to lower your interest rate.  You could add a cosigner to the loan.  Your co-signer should have excellent credit.  Remember you will have to pay closing costs again for the loan.

The best way to find a financial institution that will refinance your  loan is to start simply searching on the Internet.  You can check with the bank with which your mortgage is held.  It is in your best interest to shop around for the best financial deal.  Even though you have bad credit you can still get a great deal.  Financial institutions make a bigger profits from the people that have bad credit because they take a higher risk with the loan.  Ask family and friends, which banks that they prefer and why.  Spend a day or two actually going to the banks and looking at different options.  It is best if you call ahead to make an appointment.

Once you have completed all the research you will find a list of several companies with options for a bad credit mortgage refinance that you can choose from.  Then you can select the right loan for your situation, with a reduced monthly mortgage payment you can afford.