How to Afford All Your 2017 Home Improvements

A leaky roof or a sagging gutter can be hard to ignore. The same goes for some old-school wood paneling in your den or that hideous palm tree wallpaper you put up in a (misguided) attempt to recreate your honeymoon. Unfortunately, most home improvements don’t exactly come cheap.

In fact, it may even feel like you’re basically saving up another down payment on your home to fix it up. There are some ways, however, to sock some dollars away and have your new sink and bathtub in the new year, too.

Here’s how to work some much-needed home improvements into your 2017 budget.

1. Save

Sure, you may feel inclined to rush into renovations — and when it comes to certain home repairs, things must be readily done. But it still behooves you to save where you can before crossing things off the to-do list. One trick?

“[Set] an automatic transfer from your checking account to your savings account to take place every two weeks on your payday so that the money leaves your account before you ever have a chance to spend it,” Brian Davis, director of education for real estate blog SparkRental, said.

2. Use Your Tax Refund

Getting a big rebate from Uncle Sam this year? Put it toward your home repairs.

“While it’s easy to spend your refund impulsively, try to allocate some or all of it towards a big project that you’ve been holding off on,” Larry Greene, president at Case Design/Remodeling Indianapolis, said.

3. Get a Tax Break

Speaking of taxes, making improvements to your home could qualify you for certain tax deductions or credits the next time you file. For instance, if you take out a home improvement loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC), you may be eligible to the deduct interest. You can also qualify for a tax deduction if the improvements happen to be related to medical expenses, like constructing entrance or exit ramps or widening doorways for a sick or disabled resident.

Plus, you could qualify for a tax credit if you make certain improvements that increase your home’s energy efficiency. These credits include a $300 credit for installing a biomass stove; a $300 credit for air source heat pumps; and up to $200 for installing Energy Star-certified windows and skylights. You can learn more about the energy efficiency tax credits that are available at Energy.gov.

4. Be Smart About How You Pay

While you don’t want to overextend yourself, you may want to look into borrowing some money to put toward your home improvements — particularly if they’re the kind you can no longer put off.

Of course, it’s important to consider all your financing options before you decide how to fund a project. We already mentioned that home improvement loans and HELOCs can qualify for a tax deduction, but those aren’t your only options. There are also bank-issued credit cards or that tout promotional financing offers which allow you to skip interest on your charges for a certain period of time, usually 12 to 18 months.

If you don’t feel you can stay disciplined with a credit card, depending on your credit, you may also be able to secure a low-interest personal loan. Just be sure to crunch the numbers so you understand what you’re getting into and whether you can really afford to borrow that select amount of money. (You can learn more about this kind of financing in our loan learning center.)

5. Shop Around

Research the price of the materials you’re looking to use across “at least three, but on average five to six product and brand choices,” John Bodrozic, co-founder of HomeZada, a digital home management platform, said. Prices vary and you could conceivably drive down the costs of a particular home improvement project just for opting for different brands or materials.

Similarly, “if you feel hiring a contractor is the best approach, give them a list of things you want for your project, and go out and get at least three different bids,” he said. “This can help lower your costs by creating a competitive environment for the contractors.”

Another way to find the right person for the job: “Homeowners should ask around among everyone they know: family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, random strangers in line at the grocery store,” Davis said. “As referrals and recommendations come in, they should call up the contractors and ask to swing by a few of their jobs, to see their work and get a sense of their pricing.”

6. DIY

OK, so not everyone is going to be able to hang drywall (though there’s certainly no lack of how-to videos on the internet to help you learn). And, unless you’re particularly handy or formally trained, many home repairs are best left to the professionals. Still, there are several small projects you can do that could prevent bigger problems and/or help make room in your budget to cover your dream renovations. These DIY projects include:

Cleaning out your gutters
Swapping out HVAC filters
Power-washing your driveway
Caulking small holes or cracks around windows, pipes and doors
Changing doorknobs
Upgrading the hardware on your drawers and cabinets
Cleaning carpet stains
Simply breaking out the old brush and roller

“You don’t have to spend a ton of money to make major improvements to your home. Look for projects that have the most bang for your buck,” Greene said. “Sometimes even a fresh coat of paint can make your whole house feel new.”

For more DIY options, check out this 10 home improvement projects you can do in a day.

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