You want to extend, convert the loft, or finally replace the kitchen, and the quote is 48,000 pounds. The first decision is not which builder but which money, because the difference between a further advance on your mortgage at 5.1 per cent and an unsecured loan at 9.9 per cent over ten years is about 13,000 pounds. This site is here to make that decision, and the ones after it, clear.
The Home Works Fund explains how people in the UK pay for home improvements. Every term is defined the first time it appears. A further advance is extra borrowing from your existing mortgage lender secured on your home. A remortgage is moving the whole mortgage to a new deal, often releasing money at the same time. A retention is money a lender holds back until work is finished. You will not have to look anything up.
You will find:
- Remortgaging and further advances for works, step by step, with the affordability checks explained.
- Unsecured loans, 0 per cent cards and when they genuinely beat secured borrowing.
- Grants and schemes for insulation, heat pumps and accessibility, with a finder by region.
- Paying builders: deposits, stage payments, retentions and what to do when it goes wrong.
The Home Works Fund is edited by Mark Sheridan, who has spent years around both mortgages and building projects. It is an independent UK publication and does not arrange finance or recommend builders. Nothing here is personal financial advice.