The best home improvement loans usually aren't going to be the first loans that you encounter, but if you're in the market for a loan to pay for repairs, expansions, or improvements to your home or other real estate then it might be worth your time to shop around before you decide on one loan or another.

Shopping around for the best home improvement loans isn't a lot of work, though it can be a bit time consuming and requires quite a bit of legwork. In the end, though, you can save hundreds or even thousands of pounds by getting one of the best home improvement loans that you can, so the extra work is worth it.

Prepare your paperwork beforehand

Since you're going to be visiting several banks and finance companies in your quest to find the best home improvement loans, it will be a great time-saver to have as much of the work done beforehand as you can.

Gather up recent bank statements, mortgage payment slips, paycheck stubs, tax filings, and other financial papers, organizing them in a folder and making photocopies that you can let the loan officer review.

Some banks and finance companies even have websites where you can download loan forms and other paperwork