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A sunroom addition, which allows you to experience the outdoors while staying protected from the weather, is something many homeowners dream of. Sunroom costs average between $100 and $350 per square foot. Three-season sunrooms usually cost between $8,000 and $50,000. A four-season sunroom that you can use year-round is $20,000 to $80,000. Fortunately, several financial tools make financing a home addition possible for many homeowners. Read on to learn about the costs involved with the project and options for sunroom financing.
What is the Cost to Build a Sunroom?
Sunrooms generally come in one of two types: three-season, which have no insulation, and four-season, which are fully insulated.Three-season sunrooms are cheaper because they lack insulation, but that limits their use in extreme weather. In addition, a sunroom’s cost depends on whether it is prefabricated or built on site. Typically, a three-season sunroom that’s built on site costs between $8,000 to $50,000. Prefabricated sunrooms are cheaper, ranging from $5,000 to $30,000.Four-season sunrooms have insulation and frequently include a connection to the home’s HVAC, electricity, and plumbing. Because of these extra features, four-season sunrooms cost between $20,000 and $80,000. A glass solarium, which is made almost entirely of glass and lacks insulation, costs between $30,000 and $150,000.
Cost to Convert a Porch Into a Sunroom
If you want to transform your porch into a sunroom, you will incur sunroom addition costs. The cost per square foot for this type of conversion range from $100 to $300. As a result, converting a porch to a three-season sunroom will run you between $8,000 and $50,000. For a four-season sunroom, the cost is $20,000 to $80,000.
Does Adding a Sunroom Increase the Value of Your Home?
Along with being a beautiful and comfortable addition to your home, a sunroom also offers another benefit: value. While you won’t see a dollar-for-dollar increase in your home’s value, you may see as much as 50% of the sunroom’s cost added to your property value.
Reasons to Finance a Sunroom
Financing a sunroom can make sense if you’ve decided you want to add this kind of addition to your home. It can help you afford a sunroom if you lack the funds. For instance, you can finance a home improvement with a personal loan. Loans can be versatile tools that you can also use for various other home renovations as well. You may even decide to build a deck off your sunroom in order to enjoy your outside space even more. Fortunately, there are deck financing options that can assist with this cost.
Sunroom Financing Options
There are a number of different sunroom financing options available. Depending on your financial situation, one of the following may help you afford your sunroom project.
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan allows you to finance a new purchase through the equity you have in your home. Equity is the difference between your home’s value and how much of your mortgage you have left to pay. Typically, homeowners can access up to 85% of their equity as a loan. For example, if you have a $50,000 sunroom in mind and have paid at least $59,000 of your mortgage, you could take out a home equity loan to cover the cost.Home equity loans often have lower interest rates than credit cards and personal loans, and the repayment period can be from 5 to 30 years. However, home equity loans have several disadvantages. They use your home as collateral and become a second mortgage, meaning you could lose your home if you cannot make monthly payments in the future. Additionally, home equity loans sometimes come with numerous costs and fees.
Home Equity Line Of Credit (HELOC)
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is another way to tap into the equity in your home. But instead of the one-time disbursal of funds that a home equity loan provides, a HELOC allows you to access your equity for five to 10 years. This span is known as the draw period, in which you can borrow up to 90% of your equity. During the draw period, you only pay interest on what you borrow. Once the draw period expires, you enter a repayment period lasting between 10 and 20 years.The advantage of a HELOC is the extended period you have to access your equity. However, like home equity loans, HELOCs require that you risk losing your home if you fail to make payments on the amount borrowed. Also, HELOCs have closing costs and annual fees.
Contractor Financing
Your contractor may offer sunroom financing. If so, examine the terms. Contractor sunroom financing usually has fewer credit standards and fees for borrowers. It can also simplify the process of paying for your sunroom since your lender and contractor are one and the same. Additionally, some contractors offer free financing for sunrooms for a certain period of time or up to a certain dollar amount. However, the interest rate and monthly payment may be more costly for this financing than for a home equity loan or HELOC.
Personal Loans
Another sunroom financing option is a personal loan. You can take out a personal loan from a conventional lender, such as your mortgage lender. You can choose a personal loan that is unsecured, meaning you provide no collateral to receive it. Or you can choose a secured personal loan, which requires collateral but may give you better terms, as long as you’re confident you can successfully repay the loan.Credit requirements for personal loans may be easier to meet than those for home equity loans or HELOCs, but interest rates are usually higher. You can pay off your personal loan in a few years, or you can take out a long-term personal loan, which gives you flexibility.Specific requirements for personal loans differ. However, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) will likely influence your eligibility, so shop around.
Exploring Personal Loan Rates
A bright space that makes you feel closer to nature, a sunroom can be an investment in your home that you enjoy for years to come. With numerous sunroom financing options and a wide range of pricing, it’s possible to build the sunroom of your dreams that fits within your budget. If you think a personal loan is a good option for your project, Lantern by SoFi makes it easy to shop for loan rates. By using our online comparison tool, you can find the best financing solution for your sunroom needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a sunroom cost?
When is financing a sunroom typically the cheapest?
In what ways can you finance a sunroom?
Photo credit: iStock/xavierarnau
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About the Author
Ashley Kilroy
Ashley Kilroy is a personal finance expert with years of experience in radio, newspapers, magazines, and online content. Her work has appeared on websites including Forbes and Yahoo Finance. Ashley writes on a variety of personal finance topics for SoFi, including student loans, taxes, and insurance.
