Cabinet Refacing Requires Less Financing

by Kirk Bangstad
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

With rising interest rates, financing home improvement projects has become more difficult. With less money to spend, people are starting to focus on more modest remodeling projects with a high rate of return, like kitchen cabinet refacing.

A few years ago, interest rates on mortgages and home equity loans were very low. If homeowners wanted to remodel, they could find extra money by taking out a home equity loan or line of credit. Back then, if a home's value was appreciating at a higher rate than the home equity loan rate, homeowners could borrow against the increased value of their home without feeling like they were taking on more debt. These days, home equity loans and home equity lines of credit have risen to approximately 7.5 percent on average, higher than the appreciation rate on many houses. Mortgage rates have also risen, meaning that mortgage refinancing is generally not an option to free up more money. Homeowners that see the high rates often balk at the idea of financing remodeling projects.

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing--Save Money without Sacrificing Quality

As a result of higher interest rates, many homeowners have had to scale down home improvement projects. For example, kitchen cabinet refacing projects have become more popular as homeowners shy away from sinking tons of money into brand new kitchen cabinets. Kitchen cabinet refacing is actually a pretty good way to save money on a kitchen remodel without sacrificing a lot of quality. These days, cabinet refacing contractors can reface an old cabinet with virtually any style of wood with any type of stain. After taking on a cabinet refacing project, homeowners can cover their old cabinets with thins layers of expensive oak, for example, for a fraction of the cost of buying new oak cabinets. The finished product will still like new oak cabinets on the surface, which is the only area of the cabinets most people ever see.

If you need to remodel your kitchen and don't want to incur a lot of debt, look into cheaper projects like cabinet refacing.

Sources:

• Home Remodel Financing Becoming More Difficult

About the Author
Kirk Bangstad is an artist manager and singer working in Chicago, IL. His previous experience includes consulting for technology companies in the Silicon Valley and serving as a field director and publicist for a statewide political campaign. Kirk holds a B.A. in government from Harvard University.