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Going Green With Home Renovation Loans: The Managerial Art Of Building Equity

By Chris Esposito
Jul 28, 2009
With the economic downturn, more and more people are opting for home renovation loans to rehab their existing property instead of purchasing a new house as a way to fit their family's home needs. With this trend comes a boom in green home features that people can install to make their homes more environmentally friendly. However, you must weigh the costs of the home improvements to the benefits.

Over the last couple of years, home improvement has grown a deeper shade of green, which is a terrific trend for the environment and all those who live in it (i.e., everyone). However, many environmentally friendly products still have higher costs associated with them, making it a difficult decision for anyone who wished to fix up their home through one of the home renovation loans available today. Is it worth breaking your piggy bank to help reduce your home's carbon footprint?

Fortunately, the world of home renovation loans has provided some relief to such a difficult decision. If you can save some money and still opt for greener products, then you can get the best of both worlds.

The key is understanding the principles and processes involved in a home improvement project. It's an art of management. You hire the contractors. You manage the budget, the materials, and the labor. But, you never lift a hammer unless you are truly qualified to do so.

In this economy, a home renovation project can build more market value into your property than the actual cost of materials and labor. This is a great way to build equity into your home.

If you can successfully oversee the contractors during the home renovation loan process, then the money that you save can be applied toward the pricier products that are more friendly for the environment. However, the money is not the only facet of home renovation that makes this method desirable when considering green products.

As the homeowner, you have supreme control over the project. No general contractor should argue with you about material choices or demand that you use his specific sub-contractors. Therefore, you will find it easy to choose the specific sub-contractors and materials that will fit the home and the eco-friendly renovations that you have in mind for your home improvement project.

Some of the more common repairs seen in home renovation loans today include geo-thermal heating and solar powered electricity. And, for those people who are building whole new additions, many people are choosing to frame their walls with Structural Insulated Panels (SIPS) instead of the standard stick frame lumber.

However, it is important for every home improvement guru to still take the time to weigh the costs of the materials versus the energy savings and the overall benefits. For example, SIPS will cost more than stick framing, and will provide the greatest energy savings when used to frame an entire home - as opposed to framing just an addition. And, solar power electricity is almost always going to be more expensive than conventional methods. Just like before, you have to calculate the extra costs versus the energy savings over time.

The longer you stay in the home once the home renovation loan is completed, the more money you will save from reduced energy usage. And, of course, you have to consider the qualitative benefits of environmentally conscientious improvements.

One of the tricky aspects of home improvement projects, however, is the financing. Many lenders simply don't have the licensing or the experience to provide home renovation loans. For smaller home improvements, though, there is often more flexibility. Therefore, these types of home renovation projects provide you with a great opportunity to implement a greener form of home improvement. With proper planning, your cost savings can offset the more expensive products, and your managerial control of the project will make it easier to choose the specific materials to put in your home.
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