According to most major business reports the economy is on the rebound and we should all see the tell tale signs very soon. Unfortunately, for many of us this just doesn’t seem to be the case and money is still tight. Michigan has been hit especially hard and have left many residents left without any options for taking care of their regular home maintenance needs.
The good news is that lenders are starting to loan money again for home improvement projects and the first project that needs to be addressed for most home owners is a new roof. This past winter was especially hard on those older shingles and many people are finding is that the roof they thought would last a couple more years is now mostly laying in their yard.
Even though you are looking to borrow money from a lender you should still set a firm budget for yourself. This helps to prevent you from taking on to much debt, which could cause you to over extend yourself and possibly default on your obligations, and should also ensure that you look around for the best “bang for your buck”. Sit down and write out all your current monthly payments so that you can get a clear idea of your total debt thus safely figuring out what more you can afford to pay.
The next step is to get multiple quotes for your new roofing project and make sure to compare apples to apples. This means that you should take all variables into account including price, quality of materials, and workmanship. Sometimes you need to consider speed at which the job can be completed as it may be a requirement of the lender to have the job done by a certain date, or you may have an active leak that needs to be addressed ASAP.
Most professional roofing contractors can provide financing options for you. If they take what they do seriously they will work with several lenders that can offer financing options for customers with good or bad credit. This is very important because many times these contractors can get better deals then you may be able to get on your own because of the amount of work they do with the bank. Local credit unions are another option to obtain financing but they do tend to prefer only those with nearly perfect credit scores. Nonetheless this is a viable option to look into as they may also offer home equity loans.
You will want to make sure you have a clear understanding of the financing terms including the length of the loan and minimum monthly payment. There are several factors that need close attention here such as interest rate, late or prepayment penalties, and instructions on how to set up automatic withdrawals. It is very important to specifically ask if the lender is going to place a lien on the property. It is preferable to take a loan out with a higher interest rate if they do not take out a lien against the property as they are mostly simple interest allowing you to pay them off early without incurring the additional charge.
