Green Loans to Finance Your Remodel - NerdWallet (2024)

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• Solar panel installation.

• Weatherization.

• Bath or kitchen remodels that incorporate sustainable materials.

• Double- or triple-pane window installation.

• Water-efficient plumbing.

• Low-VOC floors, coverings with low volatile organic compounds.

» MORE: Learn about personal loan requirements

1. Check your credit reports. Review your credit report to spot errors that could be keeping your credit score down. If you address them before you submit a loan application, you’ll improve your chance of qualifying. You can see your credit report for free with NerdWallet or at AnnualCreditReport.com.

2. Estimate the project costs. Have a reliable estimate before you start looking into financing options. A personal loan comes in a lump sum, so if you don’t borrow enough, it’s difficult to reapply for more.

3. Calculate monthly payments. Use a home improvement loan loan calculator to see how the new loan fits into your budget. A calculator shows what rate and repayment term you’ll need on the loan in order to afford the monthly payments.

4. Compare lenders. It’s typically best to choose the lender that offers the lowest APR. You can also compare loan features like how fast lenders send funds, whether they allow joint or co-signed loans and what kinds of credit-building tools they offer.

5. Pre-qualify. Many online lenders let you pre-qualify to see what rate, term and loan amount you could be offered without affecting your credit.

6. Gather documents and apply. If you go with an offer you’ve pre-qualified for, you’ll move to the application process. A lender may ask for information like W-2s, pay stubs and your Social Security number, so have those documents on hand before you apply. Submitting an application will trigger a hard credit pull.

» MORE: Pre-qualify for a home improvement loan on NerdWallet

» MORE: Take our quiz to compare home financing alternatives

NerdWallet’s review process evaluates and rates personal loan products from more than 35 technology companies and financial institutions. We collect over 50 data points from each lender and cross-check company websites, earnings reports and other public documents to confirm product details. We may also go through a lender’s pre-qualification flow and follow up with company representatives. NerdWallet writers and editors conduct a full fact check and update annually, but also make updates throughout the year as necessary.

Our star ratings award points to lenders that offer consumer-friendly features, including: soft credit checks to pre-qualify, competitive interest rates and no fees, transparency of rates and terms, flexible payment options, fast funding times, accessible customer service, reporting of payments to credit bureaus and financial education. Our ratings award fewer points to lenders with practices that may make a loan difficult to repay on time, such as charging high annual percentage rates (above 36%), underwriting that does not adequately assess consumers’ ability to repay and lack of credit-building help. We also consider regulatory actions filed by agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We weigh these factors based on our assessment of which are the most important to consumers and how meaningfully they impact consumers’ experiences.