Thinking About Home Improvements This Summer?

Spring has a way of making you look at your home differently. The longer days roll in, you start noticing the kitchen that’s been quietly irritating you for three years, the bathroom that definitely needs attention, or the loft that could actually be something useful. It is no surprise that spring is when most UK homeowners start planning renovation projects for the summer.

And the numbers back that up. According to the 2025 UK Houzz and Home Study, more than half of UK homeowners renovated their homes in 2024, with a median spend of £21,440 — up 26% year on year. Meanwhile, Platinum Spas’ Home and Garden Spending Report projects total UK home improvement spending to hit £47 billion in 2026. People are investing in their homes, and for good reason.

But here is the part that catches a lot of homeowners out: the excitement of planning the work often moves faster than the thinking about how to pay for it. Before you get three quotes and pick your tiles, it is worth understanding your borrowing options and the implications of each one.

Why Home Improvements Are Worth Planning Carefully

Home improvements could add comfort, space, and in many cases, value to your property. A loft conversion, for example, could add around 15% to your home’s value on average. Kitchens, bathrooms, and extensions consistently rank among the most popular and value-adding projects.

But costs add up fast, and they rarely stay at the original estimate. Materials, labour, planning fees, building regulations, VAT, and the inevitable unexpected discovery behind a wall all have a habit of inflating the final bill. A realistic budget is not pessimism; it is good planning.

Before you commit to anything, speak to a mortgage adviser. Not after you have signed a contract with a builder, before. The type of borrowing you choose, and whether it is even the right move at all, will depend on your individual circumstances.

What Are Your Options for Funding Home Improvements?

There is no single right answer here. The most appropriate route will depend on your income, your existing mortgage, your property value, your credit commitments, and how much you need to borrow. Here is an overview of the main options.

Further Advance From Your Existing Lender

This means borrowing additional money on top of your current mortgage, from the same lender. It is often simpler to arrange than remortgaging and could be a good option if you are mid-way through a fixed-rate deal and want to avoid early repayment charges. Your lender will carry out affordability checks, and the rate on the additional borrowing may differ from your main mortgage rate.

Remortgaging to Release Equity

If you have built up equity in your property, remortgaging could allow you to release some of that value to fund improvements. This involves switching your mortgage, either to a new deal with your current lender or to a different lender entirely. It is worth checking whether early repayment charges apply to your current deal before going down this route, as those charges could outweigh any benefit.

Working with a mortgage adviser who works with a comprehensive panel of lenders means you are not restricted to one set of products. You get a proper comparison, not just what one lender happens to offer.

Second Charge Mortgage

A second charge mortgage is a separate loan secured against your property, sitting alongside your existing mortgage. It could be worth considering if you are locked into a competitive rate on your main mortgage and do not want to disturb it, but you still need to raise a meaningful sum. As with any borrowing secured on your home, the stakes are real. Your property could be at risk if repayments are not maintained.

Personal Loan

For smaller projects, an unsecured personal loan could be a more straightforward option. It does not involve your property as security, which reduces risk in that sense, but interest rates are typically higher than mortgage rates and repayment terms are shorter. It is worth running the numbers properly before assuming it is the cheaper option.

Using Savings

Where available, using savings avoids borrowing costs entirely. The question worth asking is whether it is the right use of those savings given your wider financial picture. If you have funds set aside and the numbers work, it is the simplest route.

What to Think About Before You Borrow

Look Beyond the Monthly Payment

A lower monthly payment is not automatically a better deal. If you extend borrowing over a longer term, you could end up paying significantly more in interest overall. Make sure you understand the total cost of the borrowing, not just what it costs you each month.

Check Your Current Mortgage Deal

If you are within a fixed-rate period, leaving early almost certainly means an early repayment charge. Get that figure in writing before making any decisions. Sometimes a further advance with your current lender is the smarter move; sometimes waiting until your fixed rate ends is the right call. Our Mortgage Advisors will help you work through the timing.

Build a Proper Budget

Your budget should include the main project costs, professional fees, any planning or building control costs, VAT, alternative accommodation if you need it during the work, and a contingency fund.. Unexpected surprises are not really unexpected; they just vary in form.

Check Whether You Need Planning Permission

Permitted development rights cover a range of common projects, but not all. Extensions beyond a certain size, loft conversions with particular features, and changes to listed buildings or properties in conservation areas may all require planning permission. Building regulations approval is a separate matter and applies to most structural or significant works regardless of whether planning permission is needed. It is worth checking with your local planning authority before work begins.

Tell Your Insurer

Major building works could affect your buildings insurance cover. Failing to notify your insurer before work starts could leave you without cover if something goes wrong during the project. Check your policy and speak to your insurer in advance.

Review Your Protection Arrangements

If you are increasing your borrowing, extending your mortgage term, or taking on new monthly commitments, it is sensible to revisit your life cover, critical illness cover, and income protection. Do they still reflect your circumstances? Would your family be in a difficult position financially if you could not work or were not around? These are not comfortable questions, but they are important ones.

Is It the Right Time to Borrow?

That depends on your situation. The question is not just whether you could afford the repayments now. It is whether you would still be able to afford them if your circumstances changed. Interest rates, income, employment, and family circumstances are all variables. A good mortgage adviser will look at this properly with you, not just check a box.

If you are thinking about home improvements and wondering how you might fund them, get in touch. We work with a comprehensive panel of lenders, so we could look at your options across the market rather than being limited to one provider. And we do not charge you a fee for that advice.

Ready to find out what your options could be? Book a free, no-obligation call with us today.