What Banks Offer Home Improvement Loans?

We’ll discuss several major banks that offer home improvement loans, but first, let’s review your financing options.

Best Home Improvement Loans

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$1,000-50,000 Loan Amount

8.49-35.99% APR

3–7 years Terms

560 Minimum Credit Score

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Disclaimer

Personal loans made through Upgrade feature Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) of 8.49%-35.99%. All personal loans have a 1.85% to 9.99% origination fee, which is deducted from the loan proceeds. Lowest rates require Autopay and paying off a portion of existing debt directly. Loans feature repayment terms of 24 to 84 months. For example, if you receive a $10,000 loan with a 36-month term and a 17.59% APR (which includes a 13.94% yearly interest rate and a 5% one-time origination fee), you would receive $9,500 in your account and would have a required monthly payment of $341.48. Over the life of the loan, your payments would total $12,293.46. The APR on your loan may be higher or lower and your loan offers may not have multiple term lengths available. Actual rate depends on credit score, credit usage history, loan term, and other factors. Late payments or subsequent charges and fees may increase the cost of your fixed rate loan. There is no fee or penalty for repaying a loan early. Personal loans issued by Upgrade's bank partners. Information on Upgrade's bank partners can be found at https://www.upgrade.com/bank-partners/.

Your home improvement loan options

You will have to choose what sort of loan you want, along with from whom you wish to borrow. Options range from regional banks and credit unions to national banks and non-bank lenders. Most will offer different types of loans, including one or more of the following:

Personal Loans

Personal loans are a good option for someone who does not want to rely on the equity in their home. Instead, these loans are based on your credit history, your debt-to-income ratio, and your current income. 

These loans typically close much faster than home equity loans. However, they usually have higher interest rates because they are unsecured loans. (The higher rate reflects the lender’s risk.)

Corey Sayers of Acorn Finance says to consider the monthly cost of any loan over the entire length of the loan. “You want to look at what you can afford to pay per month,” he says. “You should be looking at loans that have a payment you can carry each month.” He gives the example of a borrower who can afford to make payments of $200 per month. “With a less expensive project, that could mean a term of around five years. For larger projects, you can expect to be paying up to 20 years at $200 per month.”

Home Equity Loans

Home equity loans are available at many banks offering home improvement loans. These are secured loans made against the equity in your home. If you have at least 20% equity in your home’s value, you can use it to fund your home improvement project.

As an example, if your home is worth $250,000 and you owe $200,000 on your mortgage(s), you have 20% equity in your home. (Home equity equals what your home is worth minus what you still owe on it.) This can be used to secure a home improvement loan, which you will pay off over as many as 30 years, depending on the terms of your loan.

These loans can have lower interest rates than personal loans. However, you can risk losing your home if you are unable to make payments on your loan. 

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)

A home equity line of credit is a type of home equity loan. But, instead of taking the cash out in a lump sum, a HELOC is a revolving line of credit against your equity.

This can be convenient when making home improvements because you can pull out money as needed at each stage of the project. These sorts of loans require discipline, though. Be careful about pulling out funds too often, as this can get in the way of increasing your equity in the home. 

Cash-Out Refi

A cash-out refinance involves refinancing your entire mortgage. The new loan is used to pay off your previous mortgage, then the remaining funds are deposited in your account. 

This can be a great option if your home has increased in value. You can use your growing equity toward improvements in the home. However, you’ll be starting over from square one with the new mortgage. That can mean less equity in the short term and a longer time spent paying off a mortgage than if you’d stuck with your original loan. 

Important

Your home improvement loan options range from regional banks and credit unions to national banks and non-bank lenders.

Banks that offer home improvement loans

Most banks, whether they are major national banks or smaller regional banks, will offer home improvement loans. Many of these top banks partner with Acorn Finance. Their loan offers sit side by side with other lenders, allowing borrowers to compare and find the best loan for their needs. 

While we can’t list every bank available here, these are a few of the major players in the lending game as of October 2024:

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bank home improvement loans include a range of offerings like personal loans, HELOCs, home equity loans, and cash-out refinance loans. Home equity loan terms will depend on your collateral and can be as long as 30 years. Personal loans are offered with repayment terms up to five years. Home equity lines of credit have variable rates between 8.45% APR to 12.10% APR. Interest rates on other types of loans vary depending on factors like the type of loan you choose and your credit history. 

PNC

One of the products PNC features on their website is a personal home improvement loan. These loans are offered in amounts from $1,000 to $35,000. They’re installment loans that are paid back through set installments with a fixed interest rate. 

Chase

A Chase bank home improvement loan typically comes in the form of a cash-out refi. If the value of your home has increased, this option can allow you to tap your new equity and apply it toward a home improvement project. When considering a cash-out refi, look at how the loan will change your monthly expenses. If you are offered an interest rate that is higher than your original loan, you may pay thousands more over the life of the loan.

CitiBank

CitiBank is among Acorn Finance’s banking partners. They offer loan options that include personal loans and home equity loans and lines of credit. Not sure how much a loan will cost? Their site has a home equity calculator that can help you determine the expense associated with a loan over time. At the time of writing, interest rates ranged from 11.49% to 20.49% with repayment terms up to five years. 

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo home improvement loans can take the form of various home equity loans and personal loans. Borrowers with enough equity can qualify for a cash-out refi. As of October, 2024, Wells Fargo offered unsecured personal loans with rates as low as 7.49% APR based on a $10,000 loan with a three-year term. According to its website, Wells Fargo offers discounted rates to current customers with a qualifying consumer checking account. 

Bank of America

Bank of America offers home improvement loans in the form of both cash-out refis and home equity lines of credit. Cash-outs can be either fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgages. Which is a good fit for you will depend on how long you anticipate paying the loan and whether interest rates go up or down during the term of your loan. 

Regional banks and credit unions

“Depending on where you are, you could get a good rate through a regional bank,” says Sayers. These banks may also offer more personal service than a national bank. However, there can be disadvantages to working with smaller organizations such as credit unions and regional banks.

“At a lot of smaller credit unions,” says Sayers, “the technology platforms they use aren’t as advanced.” Sayers says this can mean inconveniences like needing to visit a branch or having to bring hard copies of documents. 

By contrast, working with an online lending portal like Acorn Finance is simple and convenient. “It never hurts to go to Acorn Finance and check your offers. It only takes a couple of minutes, and there is no impact on your credit score [when you check preapprovals].” 

Tip

Most banks will offer home improvement loans, and many of these top banks partner with Acorn Finance.

How Acorn Finance Can Help

“At Acorn Finance, we partner with the nation’s top lenders,” says Sayers. “We go through a vetting process with our lenders to make sure they are trustworthy and credible.”

Sayers goes on to explain that Acorn has several criteria that must be met before a lender can be featured on the site. “For example, we only partner with lenders that offer no prepayment penalties. So, if you want to pay off a loan early, you can do that without fearing a fee.”

In addition to major banks, Acorn also partners with several non-bank lenders. Sayers says that these lenders can often offer loans to borrowers who do not qualify for traditional bank loans. “If you have no credit or a low credit score, these lenders can be an option.” Sayers says borrowers will often pay a higher interest rate for these loans because they are offered by smaller lenders instead of large banking institutions.

Acorn Finance also partners with a number of credit-building organizations to help people qualify for loans. “From credit building all the way up to attractive options for people with high credit scores, you can find that all under one roof,” at Acorn. 

It only takes a few minutes to find out what offers you qualify for. Take a moment to start finding funding for your next home improvement project today.