by: Dan Lewis

Once you own a home, you'll get the urge to make home improvements. Often, you'll need a home improvement loan.

Home Improvement Loans

Whether you've lived in a home for years or just purchased it, you'll get the urge to make improvements. It's a natural urge to want to redo bathrooms and kitchens or perhaps have a go at the landscape. Room additions are also popular, particularly if you're planning for an addition to the family. Room additions become extremely popular when you aren't planning for a family addition, but have one coming anyway!

If you're going to make improvements, you are often going to need funds to make them. This is where home improvement loans come in. Such loans typically come in two forms, a home equity line of credit and a home improvement loan 2nd deed of trust.

Home equity lines of credits, known as HELOCs, are excellent options if you equity built up in the loan. Essentially, a lender will grant you a credit line equal to a percentage of the equity secured by a 2nd trust deed on the property. As you make improvements, you simply write checks off the line to cover the costs. Importantly, check with your tax professional to see if part or all of the repayment of the HELOC is tax deductible. Usually, you'll get a significant write-off.

If you've just moved into the home and don't have much equity, you will want to look at a home improvement loan. As with the HELOC, a lender will issue you a loan in exchange for a 2nd trust deed on the property. The difference, however, is a lender will issue you a loan in excess of the home value, often to as much as 125 percent of the current appraised value. This gives you the cash necessary to make improvements even though you don't have much equity in the home.

Improving your home is a natural evolution of the ownership experience. Home improvement loans and home equity lines of credit give you the ability to realize your dreams.