Having spent so much more time at home than usual during lockdown – and with the pandemic showing no signs of abating any time soon – it is perhaps unsurprising that our thoughts have turned to home improvements over the last few months and are likely to continue doing so, with our freedom so restricted at the moment.
Many have found that their finances have been relatively freed up as a result of lockdown, what with not having to pay for daily commutes and being unable to go on pricy holidays, which has also helped give property refurbishments a bit of a boost.
But, of course, this is a temporary situation so what other ways are there to go about financing renovation projects at home? Well, a new study by Natwest – reported on by Unbiased.co.uk – has just revealed 62 per cent of homeowners would now consider remortgaging their home in order to carry out home improvements.
This could be down to the fact that growing numbers expect that they will be spending more time at home over the next few years, while many who did have plans in place to move before the pandemic have now shelved their plans entirely, or put them on hold for the foreseeable future.
All of this has helped drive more of us to focus on doing up our current homes, instead of looking to move up the property ladder. In all, six out of ten homeowners are at least thinking about remortgaging to renovate – and this climbs to almost eight out of ten homeowners aged 30 or under.
Of those who have remortgated, some 74 per cent agree that it is a good option for anyone who is finding it hard to sell their home in the current climate.
Remortgaging to finance your renovations, whatever they may be, can be a cost effective way of updating your home, whether you need to increase your living space to suit your growing family or if you just want to change the decor throughout the property.
It means you can release equity in your home to fund the changes you want to make without having to take out a personal loan or use a credit card, while adding value to the house itself.
You might also want to investigate the Green Homes Grant, which was unveiled in July this year, enabling you to apply for financial vouchers to help you cover the cost of renovation work.
Low income households can get up to £10,000 to cover the full cost of the project, while you could get two-thirds of the costs covered for home energy-efficiency work, up to £5,000.
Interested in orangeries for your UK home? Get in touch with Foxfurd today.