What are the best home improvement loans for veterans?

The VA will pay for home improvements if you meet the specific eligibility requirements for one of its home improvement loans or grants, but there are limitations to what kind of improvements you can make. VA home renovation assistance is only meant to improve the livability and accessibility of the home.... read full answer

Improvements paid for with a VA home improvement loan or grant are limited to roof and flooring repairs, HVAC repair or replacement, electrical repair or replacement, foundation repairs, plumbing issues and anything else that will increase the livability of the home. For your convenience, below is a list of home improvement programs offered by the VA.

Ways the VA Can Pay for Home Improvements

• VA Renovation Loan: A VA renovation loan is like a normal mortgage, but it includes the cost of repairs in the total loan amount.
• Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant: The SAH grant is designed to help veterans live independently through technological adaptations of their home. These assistive technologies include voice-recognition and voice-command operations, adaptive feeding equipment and environmental controls inside the home. SAH grant eligibility is limited to veterans who have lost or lost the use of one or more limbs, suffer from blindness in both eyes, or have severe burns.
• Home Improvement and Structural Alterations Benefit (HISA): The HISA benefit helps disabled veterans make accessibility improvements. Alterations include creating access to entrances and exits of the home, adding roll-in showers, lowering counters throughout the home, installing ramping inside the home, and making electrical or plumbing alterations to accommodate a disability.
• Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grant: An SHA grant is similar to the SAH grant in that it can be used to improve the livability of a home for veterans with service-connected disabilities. The main difference is the type of service-connected disability that makes someone eligible for each grant. SHA grants are primarily for veterans who have lost the use of one or both hands, suffered injuries from severe burns, or have respiratory issues.

These types of loans and grants are exclusive to veterans, but that doesn’t mean they’re the only options. Personal loans can be a great way to finance your home improvements, and they can be used for just about anything.

Check out WalletHub’s page for the best home improvement loans for veterans to learn more. You can also pre-qualify with multiple lenders at once using our free pre-qualification tool.

USAA’s home improvement loans are general-purpose personal loans for $2,500 to $50,000 paid back over 12 to 84 months. The APRs range from 9.49% to 17.65%. The rate you get depends on your credit history, income and other factors. USAA doesn’t charge an origination fee. And they offer quick decisions, typically within 1 business day. They usually deliver funds 1 - 3 business days after that. USAA doesn’t publicly give a minimum credit score requirement for their personal loans.... read full answer

Most banks and credit unions only offer general personal loans, as opposed to loans specifically for home improvement. So USAA is not unusual. You can use a personal loan for whatever you wish, including home improvements.

Some people also use home equity loans for home improvement, since home equity loans can be used for almost anything. However, that is not currently an option with USAA. Their website states that they are not taking new applications for home equity products at this time.