Affordable Home Furnishing Tips to Avoid Debt and Some Home Improvement Loan Considerations
A new homeowner is pretty tempted to splurge when it comes to decorating his dream home. However, it is best to stay committed to the idea of furnishing your new home without going broke. It is best to focus on creating an awe-inspiring home décor yet remain debt-free. It is no longer a secret that home decor expenses could prove to be exorbitant. Even when you are thinking in terms of refurbishing just a single room, the expenses could add up pretty quickly. You need to invest in hardwood flooring or carpeting, you need to paint the walls, buy new furniture, and get new accessories, fixtures, showpieces, wall hangings, and some other home décor items. It may seem pretty overwhelming to achieve all this on a strictly limited budget. However, once you explore the expert budget-friendly home décor tips, you would know that everything is possible with creativity, determination, and dedication.
Always Chalk Out a Plan
It is essential to have a proper plan for any home décor or home improvement project. However, planning becomes tenfold important when you need to do home decoration on a slim budget. Nobody would like to be in a situation when they have identified the right couch or the bed only to realize that their budget does not permit such extravagance or maybe they have already ordered a non-refundable display cabinet online and discovered that it doesn’t fit into the living room corner they had thought it would. It is a good idea to plan meticulously so that you could smoothly execute or implement the home décor plan without any hitches along the way.
You must identify your design inspiration. Browse through the Internet and various interior design magazines. Then it is a good idea to focus on breaking down the home décor project into its different components like furniture, flooring, accessories, paint, and the overall décor. You could do ample research to figure out precisely how much would the components cost. While doing your calculations do not forget to include associated expenses such as employing the services of handymen.
Identify Novel Ways of Using What You Are Already Having
It is an undisputed fact that repurposing old home décor items would not be as thrilling or fulfilling as doing up your new house with brand new pieces that you have freshly ordered. However, with a little imagination and effort, you could completely transform the look of your old home décor pieces or components. Moreover, repurposing your old stuff could mean saving a substantial amount and steering clear of any new debt. You must think of innovative and creative ways of using your old furniture pieces. Before firmly deciding that something would not complement the aesthetic ambiance of your new home, think of novel ways of repurposing it. For instance, instead of rejecting an old sofa set, you could consider reupholstering it using rich fabrics in vibrant colors and designs. This would prove to be a more budget-friendly move as compared to buying a brand new sofa set.
Prioritize & Decorate in Stages
As per https://www.huffpost.com, it is not mandatory for you to do up the entire house within six months or a year after moving in. Your home is supposed to be a long-term commitment. You could consider slowing down and carry on with your interior designing at your own pace. If you approach the home designing and décor aspect in a relaxed way, you could come up with more innovative and creative ideas simply because you would not be pressurized to meet unrealistic deadlines and also, because you could have enough time for saving up and indulge in big purchases. You could start decorating your new home taking one room at a time. Many people give top priority to the living room because this is where you would entertain your guests and spend most of your non-sleeping hours at the house. Some people would then give preference to decorating their master bedroom while others would like to do up the dining room first and then focus all attention on the bedroom.
Incorporate Wisely Hand-me-downs
It is a good idea to use hand-me-down furniture while decorating your new home. You could successfully create a cohesive ambience even with hand-me-down furniture but you simply need to be slightly choosy and selective in your approach. Once everybody comes to know about your new home, your close friends and relatives would all land up offering their spare furniture for doing up your new home. Nothing could be a more generous and hugely touching gesture than this but if you go on accepting everything that comes your way, you would end up with a lot more furniture than you would require. Before accepting any furniture you need to ask three questions. Is the furniture piece in perfect working condition? Would it complement and fit into the overall aesthetic ambience of your new home? Could it be modified using new paint, stain, knobs, etc. for suiting the design you have in your mind? Do you know the exact spot or corner you would like to place the piece? If you are confident with the answers to all these questions, go ahead and accept the hand-me-downs.
Buy Stuff Listed on the Craigslist
Many people are lucky to get absolute gems on Craigslist for doing up their homes. You must keep searching through the latest listings on CL. Make it your daily ritual until you come across the perfect piece. You simply need to be consistent and patient in your approach. You must rely on smart negotiations. However, do thorough research regarding the neighborhood before heading that way. Be accompanied by a friend and choose not to go alone for the pickup. You should schedule meetings and pickups only during the daytime and preferably in a crowded public place. You must rely on your instinct and best judgment. If for some reason, you feel uneasy and uncomfortable, drop the deal at once.
Things to Keep in Mind If You Are Considering Home Improvement Loans
You could consider combining saved cash with a home improvement or renovation loan. This could prove to be effective in reducing the interest amount you need to pay. What are the ways to finance your home décor projects using your credit cards? You could consider using your credit card for paying for all your home décor or improvement projects. You could enjoy possible rewards on one hand and on the other; you need to pay full monthly charges timely for avoiding any late charges or penalties. For individuals pursuing small projects, you must consider using low-interest or zero percent credit cards in the case cash are not readily available to you. However, if you are still thinking of seeking some professional advice, you could get in touch with reputed organizations such as NationaldebtRelief.com.
In this context, you must know that you could avail new credit cards with zero percent interest offers for projects that are less than $15,000 (such as a bathroom remodel), chiefly because you are intending to pay off your entire amount balance within a very short time (roughly between 12 and 18 months). The credit application, as well as, the approval process seems to be pretty simple and it involves no equity risk. However, you must read the fine print and understand all the fees and terms associated with these credit cards to be on the safe side and to avoid paying exorbitant rates of interest.
Picking the Right Home Improvement Loan
For medium-sized projects ranging from $15000 to $50000, home improvement loans or unsecured loans are good choices. They have no requirements for collateral and are pretty easy to apply for and get processed. That said they do have higher rates of interest than HELOCs (Home Equity Line of Credit) or other Home Equity loans.
How Home Equity Loans Differ from HELOCs
Home Equity Loans will disburse the entirety of the money as a single lump sum. On the other hand, a home equity line of credit provides a source of funds from which you can get money whenever you need it. They are more flexible and probably better suited for higher-end projects. The processing time, cost of financing and the risks incurred are worthy factors to consider when picking an option that is right for you.
Your Home Equity Loan will be fixed-rate compared to the dynamic nature of the HELOC. That said some HELOCs do have very attractive promotional rates for the first few months that might be beneficial.
Refinancing a Mortgage into a Home Renovation Loan
First mortgage cash-out refinancing is an option for some borrowers. Closing costs for this option can be significantly high compared to their counterparts. This is a fairly extreme step to take and might be costlier in the long run than a home equity loan. You should have a solid grip on how much you expect to spend on your project before making such a big decision.
Conclusion
Always remember to finance those projects that help in boosting the overall value of your house. You must gather important information relating to the upgrades and improvements that would be boosting your overall property value. Remember not to finance any huge improvement if that boosts the overall value of your house way more than the comparable market.
