Home is where the heart is, and that couldn’t be more true than in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Upon arrival, your home will be little more than a tent. But Animal Crossing: New Horizons offers several house upgrades, adding new rooms and increased storage space – for a fee, of course.
Whether it’s your first week with the game or you’ve been playing since day one, one of the core goals of Animal Crossing is paying off your house loan to raccoon overlord Tom Nook. It takes an overwhelming number of Bells to pay off every loan and can be a pretty daunting money sink. So in this guide, we’ll tell you exactly how many Bells each upgrade requires, along with what each new renovation entails. Every house upgrade requires Bells, with the exception of the tent.
You can pay off your loan via the Nook Stop located in Resident Services. Simply go to the ABD, and the ‘loan payment’ option should be there. Once you’ve paid off a house loan, talk to Tom Nook to get the next house upgrade. The renovation will be completed the following day.
Desert Island Getaway Tent
Cost: 5,000 Nook Miles
In true deserted island fashion, Tom Nook will initially set you up with a tent. Upgrading your tent to a house requires 5,000 Nook Miles, which you should easily be able to accrue in your first day playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
It’s worth getting this payment out of the way as soon as possible, as you won’t have any access to storage until you’ve upgraded to a house.
House-to-Tent Upgrade
Cost: 98,000 Bells
Storage space: 80 slots
This upgrade will transform your tent into a fully-fledged house, with a six-by-six grid, single-room house. The upgrade also includes a handy 80 slots of storage, which can be accessed by hitting right on the D-pad. Upgrading to a house also gives you the advanced decoration mechanic by pressing down on the D-pad.
Main Room Upgrade
Cost: 198,000 Bells
Storage space: 120 slots
There isn’t much to say about the main room upgrade. This upgrade simply increases the size of your main room to eight-by-eight, along with adding an extra 40 slots of storage.
Back Room Upgrade
Cost: 348,000 Bells
Storage space: 240 slots
This upgrade gives you your first additional room, located at the rear. It’s a six-by-six grid room, with the upgrade adding an extra 120 slots of storage.
Left Room Upgrade
Cost: 548,000 Bells
Storage space: 360 slots
This upgrade adds a six-by-six grid room to the left side of your house, along with an extra 120 slots of storage. But that’s not all! This house upgrade also unlocks house customization.
You can now change your mailbox and roof by talking to Tom Nook about your house and saying, ‘I want to customize.’ Like house upgrades, customizations in Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be completed when you log in the next day. You can’t upgrade and customize your house on the same day, so choose wisely. Customizing your house costs 5,000 Bells.
The option is also now available to move your mailbox. To move your mailbox, simply pick it up with the Y button, the same as other items. You can then access it from your pockets and drop it anywhere you want, similar to furniture items.
Right Room Upgrade
Cost: 758,000 Bells
Storage space: 400 slots
Similar to the previous two upgrades, this grants you an extra six-by-six grid room on the right side of your house. Your storage gets upgraded too, though only by a measly 40 slots this time.
The right room upgrade also adds additional customization options, this time allowing you to customize your door.
Second Floor Upgrade
Cost: 1,248,000 Bells
Storage space: 800 slots
Congratulations, your house now has two floors! The upstairs room is slightly wider than previous upgrades, boasting a ten-by-six grid space to work with. This upgrade also doubles your storage, adding an additional 400 slots.
It also includes the final customization options, allowing you to change your house’s siding.
Basement Upgrade
Cost: 2,498,000 Bells
Storage space: 1,600 slots
The basement upgrade will be the final renovation to your Animal Crossing: New Horizons abode. Similar to your second floor upgrade, the basement is a ten-by-six grid room.
This is also your final storage upgrade, adding an extra 800 slots for 1,600 storage slots overall. All that’s left to do is pay off the final Bell total.
Free Customizations
Once you finally pay off your basement loan, you’ll be completely debt-free! While there’s no new storage slots or space to take advantage of, the game does reward you for paying off the loan. Customizations will become free-of-charge, waiving the 5,000 Bells fee should you wish to change your house’s exterior. The 2.5 million Bells price tag is hefty, however, and up to your discretion should you wish to pay it off.