mortagesandforeclosures

by J Miller

Due to the crash in home values across the nation there are a lot of people who are now living in houses that have not built up any added value over the past several years. This has put a strain on people who were hoping to use the increased monetary value of their homes to perform some much needed home improvements.

In a rising housing market you can buy a house value one year and in the next year the value of the home will actually increase by a few percentage points from one year to the next. So if you bought a home for $150,000 five years ago it might actually be worth $200,000 today with normal economic growth. You would then be able to borrow money against that added value from a bank and use that money to upgrade your house.

Unfortunately many people don't have that added home value which is known as "equity." Most home prices have actually dropped in the past year or so, which means a lot of people are now paying for houses that are now worth less than what they originally paid. When you owe more cash on a house than what it is valued at then you are said to be "underwater" with your mortgage.

Luckily you can still afford home improvements even without having equity in your home. There are a number of different home improvement loan and financing options available if you know where to get them. One of the easiest ways to get a low interest home improvement loan is to use an online lending institution. The application process is free and easy and you can get approved in just a few days.

Another great way to keep the high price of a home remodeling project down is to do at least some of the labor yourself. For many home improvement jobs the largest expense often comes from the amount of manual labor involved, so by doing some of that work yourself, you can really shrink the total cost of the overall job. There are lots of easy do-it-yourself home improvement things most people can do around their homes with just a little bit of knowledge and a willingness to work.

If you have a important house repair that needs to be done, don't let your home's dropping value prevent you from getting the cash you need to make the repairs. Most small home repairs can become major headaches if they are allowed to go unfixed for too long. And, as expected, large home repairs always end up costing more than the small ones.

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Want to learn about more ways you can finance those home improvements? There are lots of different home improvement loan options available today depending upon your credit rating and home value. This and other unique content 'home improvement loan' articles are available with free reprint rights.

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