Financing The Ultimate Backyard Remodel

The last cold snap has finally passed and you can finally go outside without a full-on puffy jacket cocooning you ankle to shoulder. Soon enough it will be summer a.k.a. backyard season.

But what if your backyard is looking a little grim? A backyard remodel can help turn even the dingiest cement patio into your own personal oasis—where you can sit back and relax by your own personal pond, or live out your Masterchef dreams with an outdoor artisan pizza oven that bakes the crispest crusts on the block.

A backyard remodel is also a great way to bring an outdated home into the modern era without worrying about removing walls or making structural changes to the interior of your home. Adding modern landscaping can take a 70’s home from drab to fab faster than you can say “lawn flamingo.”

And depending on the extent of the remodel, updating your backyard could also be cheaper than interior home renovations. A backyard remodel could also potentially increase the value of your home, which means that putting some work into your yard now might help maximize the amount you can sell the home for later.

Here’s what you need to know about backyard remodeling before you start peeping new raised flower beds for behind the pool.

Backyard Remodel Cost

One of the first things you may want to consider when planning your new backyard remodel is backyard renovation cost. Of course, the cost will vary depending on what exactly you have planned for your new yard. If you’re planning on going big with a new patio, outdoor kitchen, and pool, you can expect a higher price tag than if you’re just planning on installing some new garden beds and lawn furniture.

Once you know what types of changes you’re looking to make to your yard, you can start to research average prices. For example, the cost of landscaping an average yard might run you a little more than $13,000 . Adding a wooden deck could cost around $10,000, and adding a full patio could cost more than $50,000. Prices can vary depending on where you live and the size of your yard.

When you’re planning a budget for your backyard remodel, you may also want to consider the return on investment for any upgrades you make. Some yard improvements can do a lot to improve the value of your home, but some improvements may not offer a lucrative return on investment.

If you’re primarily interested in increasing the value of your home, you may want to focus on those projects with the highest likelihood of making a big impact on asking price.
If, on the other hand, you’re planning a backyard remodel so that you and your family can get more use out of the space, you may want to focus on features that will be most enjoyable for you, whether that’s a pool, an outdoor kitchen, or fully landscaped bocce ball court.

Backyard Financing

Okay, so you’ve settled on a perfect yard design. What next? Once you know what you want to do in your yard, you’ll want to figure out how to pay for it.

Financing a backyard remodel can seem daunting—it may seem a little scary to invest a lot of money into a part of your property that doesn’t even have a roof. But improving your property with a great backyard remodel can pay off, whether in time spent outside by the pool with your kids or in a better price when you sell.

It can be tempting to put a project like a backyard remodel on a credit card, but this can have some downsides and might end up making your project more expensive over time.

Credit cards may have higher interest rates than some other forms of financing. This means that if you pay for your new hot tub with a credit card, you might accrue additional interest until the hot tub is totally paid off.

Because credit cards don’t have fixed repayment terms, you might end up paying lots of interest on your new hot tub, consequently making it more expensive.

Before you reach for the credit card, you could check in with your contractor to see if they offer payment plans. Some contractors will split your total bill into smaller portions to be paid out as work progresses. Paying for your backyard remodel over a few different payments may make it easier to pay for your new oasis out of pocket.

Some people use the equity that they have built up in their home in order to pay for outdoor improvements. A Home Equity Line of Credit may let you borrow against the value of your home in order to finance your backyard remodel. When you take out a home equity line of credit, your home operates as collateral for the loan—this is considered a secured loan.

Lenders may also look at other data, like your credit score, when considering you for a home equity line of credit. Interest rates on home equity lines of credit are typically variable, which means that they can go up and down over time, which may make it harder to plan for the cost of repayment.

Additionally, home equity lines of credit may come with extra fees similar to what you paid when you first took out a mortgage. These fees could increase the overall cost of your renovation project.

Home improvement loans or personal loans may be another good option for financing your new dream backyard. For those who qualify, unsecured personal loans may be a quick and easy way to get the cash needed for that new landscaping without having to rely on a credit card. Like other forms of financing, you’ll need to meet certain financial requirements in order to qualify for a personal loan.

For those who qualify, personal loans can be a great solution for covering backyard remodeling costs. A personal loan is, at its most basic, a set amount of money you borrow from a lender and pay back over a predetermined period of time with static monthly payments. Personal loans may also offer lower interest rates than credit cards or other types of financing.

One major benefit of personal loans is that they can be used for almost anything, so if you want to install a new deck and also add a new stove to your kitchen, you could use a personal loan to do both.

While budgeting and saving for your backyard remodel is ideal (so you don’t have to use credit or take out a loan), one other major benefit of using a personal loan is that they can be quick to secure and require relatively little paperwork. Personal loans offer you flexibility when it comes to deciding exactly what you want to do with your loan. With SoFi, you can find your rate (without affecting your credit score) in just a few minutes. And on top of that, SoFi Personal Loans have no fees required. That’s right, zero fees.

External Websites: The information and analysis provided through hyperlinks to third-party websites, while believed to be accurate, cannot be guaranteed by SoFi. Links are provided for informational purposes and should not be viewed as an endorsement.

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.

SOPL19033