Improve your home with a Halifax Personal Loan

Over 17,000 of our customers took out a loan with us last year to make some improvements to their home. We know it's an exciting, yet big decision to put a plan like this into action. So whether you're getting a tradesman in or doing it yourself, we've put together some useful tips to help make sure you get a result you're happy with.

No matter what the job is, safety is important if you're DIY-ing. Make sure you're well equipped. You can find all kinds of safety guides in the library and online, so read up on the tools or materials you'll need, but a quick list of safety items that are good to have are:

• Safety glasses
• Protective gloves
• Mask
• Ear protection.

Pay extra attention when working near gas and electricity. If in any doubt consult an expert.

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Learn from people who have tackled similar projects. Did they manage to complete it to schedule or cost? Have they any hints and tips to make the job go more smoothly?  To make sure your expectations are realistic, plan out each job, then add on some contingency for costs and timings as a precaution.

If you're planning to purchase a lot of materials, see if you can get an account set up with your builders merchant - this can often save you up to 10%.

Preparation is key to any good job and can help save you time and money. A few things to consider are:

• Tools - make sure you have the correct tools for the job - eg. a spirit level for putting up shelves, dust sheets for painting and sanding, a friend to help if removing doors or lifting heavy items are involved.
• Measure twice, cut once - doing this can save you quite a lot in wasted materials.
• A good DIY book - this can help you no end to make sure you tick off all the boxes before you start any job.

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Before you start any building work make sure you have the correct planning permission. If you don't, you could find yourself having to pay to take it down.

Maybe you need a tradesman to do all or part of the job. If you do, you should get at least three quotes. Remember, get quotes, not estimates - an estimate could end up costing you much more. And although price is important, the most important thing to consider is the quality of their work. A good tradesman should be able to provide you with a list of references and photos of previous jobs. Don't be worried about contacting a referee and checking the quality of the work first hand - it could make the difference between that dream home improvement or a nightmare home disaster.

Personal loans from Halifax are available to existing customers and offer a range of borrowing amounts and repayment terms to suit your budget.

• Loans from £1,000 to £25,000
• Repay loans over 1 to 7 years
• Fixed repayments to suit your budget
• Instant online loan decisions

Use the loan calculator to find out if we've got loan quotes to suit you.