Great discussion. I’ve been through window replacements in two different homes, so here’s my quick financing checklist:
If using a bank or credit union loan: Shop around for the best interest rate, watch out for any origination fees, and choose a term you’re comfortable with (shorter term = less interest overall).
If using contractor financing: Confirm all the terms (promo duration, interest after promo, any fees). Also, don’t be afraid to ask if there’s a cash discount as an alternative, as others have suggested.
Insurance and rebates: After installation, get a wind mitigation inspection and submit it to your insurer (impact windows can lower your premium). Check for any energy efficiency rebates too (sometimes local utilities or programs offer them).
Keep documentation: Save all contracts, receipts, loan documents, and warranty info. It helps if there are any issues or if you sell your home later (proof of improvements can be a selling point).
Know what’s secured: Understand if your financing involves a lien. A normal personal loan doesn’t, a home equity loan/HELOC does (on your house), and PACE does (tax assessment lien). Just something to be aware of.
At the end of the day, the “best” financing is the one that gets you the windows you need with payments you can manage comfortably. Looks like you're getting there!
I just want to say this thread is incredibly helpful. I'm actually in a similar situation as @dennis_rogue (house in Tampa, about 18 years old). I've been lurking and taking notes.
I appreciate the tip about county or local programs. I did some digging and found that Pinellas County (where a friend of mine lives) at one point offered low-interest loans for certain home improvements. Not sure if Hillsborough or others do something similar currently, but it's on my radar to check.
Also, I'll definitely keep an eye on the My Safe Florida Home program. Free money is the best financing if you can get it, haha.
For now, I'm planning to do what many suggested: get multiple quotes and see what financing each offers, then check with my bank/credit union. This thread gave me a checklist of things to ask the contractors too (like about permits, warranty, and if there's a discount for cash).
Thanks for the knowledge, everyone! It's given me confidence to move forward with my project.
I totally agree with everyone saying to check credit unions. I used Suncoast Credit Union for my window loan, and they had a special offer for members doing home improvements. It wasn’t heavily advertised; I only found out after asking about any home improvement loan products. The rate was a bit better than a generic personal loan.
One thing I noticed: the contractor’s financing offer I got (through a third party) was quick and easy – basically a credit check and sign on a tablet, done in minutes. The credit union process took a couple of days and a bit more paperwork (I had to show income, etc.). But I was okay with that to get a lower rate.
So, it comes down to hassle vs savings sometimes. If someone really values convenience and can afford a slightly higher rate, contractor financing is very convenient. If you value every dollar and have the time, shopping around can save you some money on interest.
For me, it saved a few hundred bucks in interest over the life of the loan, which I’d rather keep. But either way, the important part is getting those new windows in.
Reading all this, I realize how much planning some of us put into these projects. I actually combined my window project with some other renovations. We did new windows and an exterior paint job around the same time. I ended up using a local home improvement company that could handle both and they offered financing for the whole package.
It was basically a home improvement loan through a partner bank for $25k to cover everything (windows, paint, some soffit repairs). The rate was about 6.5% for 7 years. Maybe not the absolute best rate, but it was convenient having one payment for the lot.
The reason I mention this is, if you have multiple things to do on your home, sometimes bundling them can get you a deal or at least simplify financing. The contractor might be more willing to negotiate price if it's a bigger contract, and the financing might cover the entire scope.
Of course, if windows are your main focus, it's perfectly fine to treat that as a standalone. In my case, the painting crew came right after the window crew, which was nice for fixing any nicks or caulking from window install. It made me feel like the financing was well-used on a comprehensive upgrade.
Just an alternate perspective for those planning multiple projects in the same timeframe.
I'll be the voice of old-fashioned wisdom here: if you can avoid financing by saving up, that's the cheapest route. I waited and saved for a few years to replace my windows. Mind you, my situation was a bit different – I had some old windows but they weren't completely falling apart, so I had the luxury to wait.
In those years, I stashed money away and by the time I was ready, I paid for the project in cash. No loans, no interest, no payments. That felt pretty good.
However, I'll admit, during those years of waiting, I dealt with drafty windows, higher energy bills, and the worry each hurricane season. So it's a trade-off. If your windows are really bad or you just want the benefits sooner, financing lets you enjoy the upgrade now while paying over time.
I just wanted to say, there's also nothing wrong with pausing and saving if that suits your situation. Especially if interest rates are high, sometimes delaying a year and saving aggressively can make sense. But if you do that, be disciplined to actually save that money regularly.
In @dennis_rogue's case, you seem ready to act now, which I completely get. Your windows sound like they need replacing and you’ll benefit from doing it sooner. That's where financing shines – it enables the improvement on your timeline, not just when your bank account hits a certain number.
So, whether one finances or saves up, it's about what's best for your scenario. No one-size-fits-all.
A quick note on something @timmentor and others touched: insurance discounts for impact windows. After your windows are installed, get a wind mitigation inspection (if you haven't had one recently). It's a simple inspection where they check all your storm protections (roof, windows, doors, etc.). With that report, your insurance company can apply discounts.
In Florida, having all impact windows (along with a rated garage door and such) can qualify you for a "glazed opening protection" credit. It might not be huge, but every year it'll save you some money. And those savings can effectively offset part of a loan payment as some have said.
I mention this because a neighbor of mine didn't realize he had to submit an updated wind mitigation form. He got impact windows and thought the insurance discount was automatic. It isn't – you have to show proof via that inspection. He got it sorted eventually and got a refund for the difference, but it took a few phone calls.
So when you get your new windows, add "schedule wind mitigation inspection" to your to-do list. They usually cost ~$100 but it's well worth it.
Not exactly financing, but it's post-financing savings which is part of the overall equation of affordability.
I have a success story with those long-term no interest promotions. In 2019, one of the window companies we got a quote from was doing a special: 24 months no interest, no payments. Essentially, you get two years free of any payments, then at the 2-year mark, you'd either pay it off or it would convert to a regular loan (I think at around 15% APR).
We took that deal. Our project was $10k for a handful of windows and a patio door. We signed up, and true to their word, we didn't have to pay a thing for two years. We made sure to bank money each month as if we had a payment, so by the end of 24 months we could pay it off. It worked out, and we essentially got a two-year free loan. But not every company will have such a long term free financing; we just got lucky with the timing (it was a summer promo). Keep an eye out for holiday or off-season specials. Sometimes around Memorial Day or New Year, companies run financing specials to drum up business.
That said, don't choose a company solely because of a financing gimmick; make sure they're good too. In our case, we did our homework on them as well.
Late to the party, but I want to share about ProTech Windoors since they've been mentioned. I used them for my house in Largo. They were fantastic - family-run feel but professional. They did offer financing but I had already secured a loan through my bank (Wells Fargo personal loan at ~7%). ProTech's finance offer for me was actually a higher rate (9%) because I was looking at a longer term with them, so I politely declined that and just used my bank loan. They had no issue with that. They didn't pressure me or anything - they just removed the financing from the contract and I paid via the loan funds. Everything went smoothly. So you definitely can use an outside loan even if the contract has an option for their financing. Just let them know. The key is you pay them like cash, and you handle paying your bank separately.
Some quick number crunching for folks trying to visualize the cost (I’m a numbers nerd, bear with me):
Say you finance $15,000:
At 0% for 12 months, that's about $1,250 per month.
At 0% for 18 months, about $834 per month.
At 5% for 5 years (60 months), roughly $283 per month (and you'll pay about $2k in interest over the 5 years).
At 7% for 5 years, about $297 per month (interest total around $2.8k over 5 years).
At 7% for 10 years (120 months), about $174 per month (interest total around $5.8k over 10 years).
So, shorter term = higher monthly, less interest; longer term = lower monthly, more interest paid in total.
In our case, we chose a middle ground: a 5-year term. We felt okay with the ~$300 monthly payment. We did consider the 12-month no interest, but coming up with $1,250 every month would have been tight for us unless we slashed other expenses.
These numbers also show why those 0% deals are attractive if you can handle the cash flow. You pay literally no extra. But if you can't, it's not a bad thing to stretch it out a bit.
One more thing: some lenders might offer something like a "same-as-cash" if paid in say 3 months (essentially a very short term). If someone has, say, a year-end bonus or tax refund coming, they might use a short term bridge loan. It's less common, but just throwing it out there.
Anyway, I always like to actually calculate scenarios to see what fits the budget. Thought I'd share these figures.
We did something similar to @cooking518. We needed a new roof and windows around the same time (thanks to a hail storm). We found a contractor licensed for both roofing and windows, and they gave us a package deal. In our case, we went through a loan offered by the roofing side of the business (it was actually a Florida PACE program loan, since it covered hurricane-resistant roof and windows).
The benefit was one project, one contractor coordinating, and one financing plan for everything. It made life easier, even if the paperwork for PACE was a bit intense (lots of forms).
If someone has multiple projects, definitely worth asking contractors if they have bundled services or referrals. Sometimes they'll bring in a partner company and still give you a combined quote.
For just windows, stick with window specialists like Karoly or ProTech as you're already doing. But I wanted to illustrate how mixing projects can sometimes open up financing opportunities (like some solar companies, for instance, offer financing that could include other efficiency upgrades like windows).
In our scenario, the PACE loan was at ~6.25% for 15 years, covering roof and windows, and we are paying it via our property tax. It's a long haul, but we felt okay about it because it significantly improved our home's resilience. If it was just windows alone, maybe we would have done a shorter-term bank loan instead.