Compare Home Improvement Loans From 15+ Lenders in 2 Minutes

A home improvement loan is a type of personal loan that lets you borrow money from a financial institution and pay it back on a monthly basis over a set repayment term length. The amount you qualify for and interest rate on your personal loan will be based on your credit profile and other factors.

Repayment terms vary by lender, but many lenders offer terms ranging from two to six years. Some lenders offer longer terms for home improvement loans, sometimes up to 12 years. If you take out a personal loan, funds are generally sent to you very quickly — as soon as the same day, or within a couple business days.

The most common type of unsecured home improvement loan is a personal loan, which usually doesn’t require you to put up any collateral. This is different from other loans that can be taken out for home improvement projects, such as home equity loans and lines of credit – these types of loans use your home as collateral.

Still, some personal loans are secured, and they require you to put up collateral. Collateral is something of value, such as cash savings, an automobile, or even a house, which is used to guarantee the loan. If you are unable to make payments in the future, ownership of the collateral may pass from you to the lender.

• HELOCs, or home equity lines of credit, are lines of credit taken out using your home as collateral. With HELOCs the lender agrees to lend you a maximum amount within a given term length, called a draw period. A borrower can use as much or as little of that maximum amount as they want within the draw period of the line of credit, and then must repay it back during the repayment period.
• Home equity loans are much like HELOCs except the amount of the loan is decided during the application process and is funded to the borrower in one lump sum after approval. Because HELOCs and home equity loans use the home as collateral, the lender will likely require an appraisal of the property before approving the loan amount.
• Personal loans taken out for home improvement are not typically backed by your home, which usually means there is a less complicated approval process and faster funding without the risk of losing your home should you be unable to repay the loan at some point in the future.

Getting a personal loan is usually a quick and easy process compared to other types of loans like HELOCs, home equity loans, and mortgages. Most lenders allow you to check your rate and prequalify without any impact on your credit score — you can also check multiple lenders at once with Purefy’s tool.

Once you’ve prequalified, you can submit your application online, which generally takes less than 15 minutes. The lender will run a hard credit check and may request supporting documentation such as a paystub or tax returns. If your loan is approved, the lender will typically electronically transfer the funds directly to your bank account.

The process can be completed in anywhere from the same day to a few business days, depending on the lender, and your qualifications.

A fixed rate loan has an interest rate that will not change over time, meaning your monthly payment will be the same throughout the life of the loan. Personal loans are typically fixed, but some lenders do offer variable rates.

A variable rate loan, on the other hand, has an interest rate that will fluctuate with market rates. They are usually tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate or “SOFR” index. If market rates go down, your rate and monthly payment will go down, but if market rates go up, so will your rate and payment.

Variable rates tend to be a bit lower than fixed rates, at least to start. They can be a good option if you plan on paying off your loan quickly and you don’t expect market rates to rise much while you are repaying your loan. They can also be attractive when market rates are at historic highs and you expect rates to decline.

Credit cards and HELOCs are typically variable rate lines of credit, and although fixed-rate credit cards and HELOCs do exist, they are rare. Home Equity Loans can be fixed or variable.

Purefy makes comparing lenders easy. Instead of going to each lender’s site and putting your information in repeatedly to see who will give you the best deal, you can put your information in once and we’ll show you the best prequalified rates from an array of lenders.

When comparing personal loan options, the key items to consider are:

• Which lender is offering me the lowest interest rate on the repayment term I want?
• Can I afford the monthly payment?
• Does the lender charge any fees, such as origination fees, late payment fees, or prepayment penalties?
• How long until the loan will fund?

Yes, you can use a personal loan to pay off other debts, and even use them as a method to consolidate multiple debts.

If you have higher-interest credit card debt or took out a high interest loan, paying off that debt with a low interest rate personal loan can save you a significant amount of interest and help you get out of debt much faster.

Remember, credit cards usually have variable interest rates, which means that your interest payments could go up if market rates go up. Personal loans typically offer fixed rates.

Yes, you may be able to get a home improvement loan if you have bad credit, but your options may be limited, and it could be more difficult to qualify. Bad credit is generally defined as a credit score in the low 600s or worse.

Check our rate comparison tool to see if you prequalify with our lender network – you might be surprised, and it won’t hurt your credit score to check.

While you don’t necessarily need good credit to obtain a home improvement loan, having good credit will likely result in lower interest rates and more lenders to choose from.

The requirements to qualify for a home improvement loan vary from lender to lender, but most lenders will look for things like:

• A fair or good credit score – although requirements vary by lender
• Steady income and employment
• Borrower 18 years or older
• Borrower is a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident with a Social Security Number

The amount you can borrow varies from lender to lender, but some lenders offer loans as high as $50,000 and some even as high as $100,000.

However, even if a lender offers a high loan amount, to qualify for the largest loans you may need to meet specific credit and debt-to-income requirements, and you may need to secure your loan with collateral.

Nope! Purefy advertises rates on behalf of our partners and will never charge you a fee to use our site.

Some lenders may charge fees such as origination fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties – consider these in addition to factors like interest rate when deciding to take out a loan.

Not at all! Purefy’s comparison tools only use soft pulls, and a soft pull has no impact on your credit score.

If you decide to submit a full application with a lender, that lender will ask to perform a hard credit pull, which may temporarily lower your credit score, usually by a few points. That’s why it’s so important to use a rate comparison tool like the one at Purefy before moving forward with an application.

The lowest rates advertised by lenders are usually only available to borrowers with excellent credit who meet the lender’s other requirements. In general, the higher your credit score, the better chance you have at getting a lower rate. Factors such as income, debt-to-income ratio, and other criteria can also affect your rate.

When you compare rates on Purefy, you’ll see the payment estimate for each of your loan options. If you would like to estimate payments on your own, you can also use our Personal Loan Calculator.

The easiest way to find a low-interest home improvement loan and see if you qualify is to use a comparison tool such as the one offered by Purefy. Searching for offers from multiple lenders with one form is the best way to compare options and find the best loan for your needs.

Funding times vary by lender. Some lenders can fund loans on the same day, while others may take a few business days or longer. Money is usually sent electronically to your bank account, ensuring fast delivery.