If you’re looking at making home renovations or considering a large-scale house remodeling project, you know how costly it can be. The costs for construction supplies, hiring a qualified contractor and paying the various fees for permits can quickly add up.
You could borrow cash from a bank to help pay for all the work, but banks always expect you to pay back not only the loan, but also the interest. A $10,000 bathroom remodel may really end up costing you $15,000 by the time you’ve paid back all the interest. Instead of going for a bank loan, why not look into some of those credit cards offered by the larger home improvement store chains? As long as you have decent credit and a plot to pay them back, it’s usually an option worth considering. Those credit cards have several distinct advantages:
No Interest for a Limited Time: Many of those home improvement store credit cards give you a period of 6 to 12 months with no interest charges as long as you use the credit card in their store. Those savings could add up to huge money if you are able to pay back all of the amount you borrowed on the credit card. Even more importantly, huge stores like Lowe’s Home Centers may have different credit cards available for your own personal situation.
Store Discounts: Home improvement store credit cards often give you lower prices on building supplies and even service jobs you may order from the store. Sometimes these discounts are for a limited time, but they can add up to huge cost savings if you buy what you need at the right moment.
All-In-One-Solution: There is something to be said for buying all your home improvement materials for a specific project from one store. Instead of visiting a dozen stores to find a refrigerator you can go to one store and buy a faucet, a sink, a refrigerator, all the cabinets and even hire and schedule the installers all at one time. You don’t need a huge home improvement store credit card to necessarily do this, but things do seem to go much smoother this way.
Why do home improvement stores offer these cards with such fantastic rates? Normal banks make their money by giving you a loan and charging you interest. These home improvement stores don’t have to make money on interest because they will make a profit on you buying items from their store for retail price. These hardware stores are essentially giving you a no-interest loan for a small period of time so that you can buy more of their items!