Lenders Offer Incentives for Home Remodelers

By: Marshall Loeb: REALTOR® Magazine Online
Credit card providers are increasingly rewarding consumers for spending money on remodeling, including cash rebates and elaborate point systems redeemable for retail items at stores that sell home goods.

For instance, Chase Bank has partnered with Reader’s Digest Association to offer the Chase Home Improvement Rewards Card. Every dollar spent on home improvement earns cardholders three points, which can be redeemed at such stores as Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears, Linens 'n Things, and Bed Bath & Beyond. The Chase card has no annual fee and a variable interest rate currently set at 13.24 percent, midrange for these sorts of cards.

Other companies offering similar cards include Sears Gold MasterCard, Home Depot Rewards MasterCard, Lowe's Credit Card, and the Discover Platinum Home Improvement Card.

The market is an attractive one. Des Plaines, Ill.-based National Association of the Remodeling Industry projects that home owners will spend $291 billion on materials and services for residential remodeling in 2006, up from an estimated $275 billion in 2005.