If you are looking for a sum of money to increase your spending power, you may well be thinking about a secured personal loan.
What is a secured personal loan? It is a loan secured on an asset, which is most likely to be your home. If you default on the loan, the lender has the right to use the asset to recover the money.
There are several advantages in arranging your finance on a secured basis:
• If you have a poor credit history, this is less of a problem.
• Interest rates can be lower, because of the lower degree of risk.
• You have more flexibility in arranging the loan terms, such as the period of the loan.
• You have freedom in how you use the money.
So is a secured personal loan right for everyone?
Obviously, the big risk in taking out a secured personal loan is that if you default on the loan, the lender has the right to take possession of the asset on which it is secured. If this is your house, you could end up homeless.
So is there any way of minimising the risk of losing your house?
• The obvious way of minimising the risk is to take out insurance on the secured personal loan, to guard against events that might cause you to lose your income, such as unemployment, accident or illness. You get a better deal with a stand-alone policy rather than taking the one the lender tries to sell you.
• An insurance policy can't help you with financial mismanagement. Think carefully before you take out the secured personal loan: do you really need it, and can you really afford it? It's very easy to become over-extended without realising it.
• If you do get behind with the repayments, and find you can't catch up, don't bury your head in the sand. Talk to the lender and be honest about the problem. Always remember that the lender doesn't want your house. They want their money back. They will usually be willing to negotiate a rescheduling of the payments. The important thing is that you show willing to pay SOMETHING.
Many advise that an unsecured loan is preferable to a secured personal loan. But if your credit rating is poor, this can be harder to obtain. A secured personal loan is fine if you can be sure you can keep it up. But if you don't trust your own financial management, maybe it isn't for you.
With literally hundreds of credit cards at your disposable, choosing the one that's right for your lifestyle can be a daunting task. You always want to ensure you get a credit card that meets your needs while offering the best rates and the biggest rewards. You can search dozens of local banks and lending institutions, scour the internet, or randomly select a credit card OR you can use our convenient online credit card comparison tool to find exactly the card that's best for you. Our credit card comparison tool will allow you to view credit card details side-by-side in an easy to understand cross grid. You can even select a card and approve online, in some cases being approved within minutes of submission! It truly is the smart way to shop for credit cards!
Print this page