Personal Finance Tips

How can one avail personal loans? Are there different types of loans in the personal loans category? As the types of personal loans are different so are their requirements. Broadly personal loans can be divided into two types – one is secured and the other is unsecured.

People once clear about the personal loan options will be in better position to decide which type of loan will work for betterment of their life instead of making their life hell. Many lives make and break with the loans. After all, unbearable debt burden will take steam out of your life.

The first type of the loan is called a secured loan. As the name suggests availing secured personal loan requires the borrower to give some kind of collateral or security for sanction of such loan. The very common types of collateral or security used to have secured loan is personal property such as land, home or automobile. A loan in which your home acts as collateral or security is termed as a second mortgage loan or a home equity loan. The other things that can be used as security for secured loans are bonds, stocks, saving account, and fixed deposits.

Lenders are more flexible when they are to grant secured loans. In secured loans the borrower is offered low rate of interest as well as longer period of repayment when compared with unsecured loans. The drawback of secured loan is if you default on the taken loan or fall short to repay it, the lender can seize the collateral used to get the loan.

In case you do not have any collateral to put as a security you will not qualify for secured personal loan, unsecured personal loan is the only option left with you. In unsecured loan you don’t require any collateral to secure a loan. For non homeowners unsecured loan is an excellent option. The requirements needed for an unsecured loan has to largely depend on the credit history of the borrower. The past credit history of the borrower is of utmost importance when loan is to be sanctioned without collateral.

The approval of unsecured loan has higher chance for borrower with higher credit score. A good credit score is helpful in securing higher amount of loan and that too at lower interest. With poor credit score, unsecured loan can still be provided by the lender but be ready for higher rate of interest.

Low-interest personal loans, also known as signature loans, can often be quite difficult to qualify for. Low-interest personal loans are granted to the borrower without the lender enjoying the benefit of collateral which is why they are often called unsecured loans. It is for this reason that borrowers will find that lenders’ guidelines for such loans are often significantly more stringent.

Since no collateral is offered, as opposed to a home equity or auto loans, the lender’s only recourse in the event of default is to file a lawsuit. While it is certainly within reason that the lender could be awarded some personal property or wage garnishment as a result of a lawsuit, this is generally not the case.

In jurisdictions where wage garnishments are permitted, they are generally reserved for cases involving child support payments. As lenders find themselves financially exposed with low-interest personal loans, they will often require that the borrower has a requisite level of financial stability and credit in order to consider granting them.

The underwriting guidelines as regards low-interest personal loans will vary from lending institution to lending institution. In the case where there is a pre-existing personal relationship between the lending institution and the potential borrower, the qualification criteria will often be quite a bit more lenient.

While this is often the case, the lending institution is certainly under no obligation to make any exceptions as regards their guidelines. The parameters that lending institutions will use in order to determine whether a borrower is qualified for a low-interest personal loan are solid financial assets, job longevity, good credit rating and a low debt to income ratio.

The size of the personal loan that most lending institutions are willing to offer are often limited, sometimes to as low as $5,000. While some may offer more, it is important to remember that low-interest personal loans are often quite difficult to receive approval for. In the case of a potential borrower with less than perfect credit, they will find that the opportunity for them to receive approval for a low-interest personal loan is limited to say the least.

The situation is necessarily as dire as one might believe for borrowers seeking a loan with less than perfect credit. There are countless finance companies that specialize in smaller loans for just such borrowers. While borrowers may succeed in obtaining a loan through these finance companies, they will find that the interest rates that they are offered are often as much as 10% above market interest rates and can be paid off over a one to two year period. It is highly recommended that borrowers do their due diligence as regards researching their available alternatives.

There is another option for borrowers with poor credit, cash advance loans. Cash advance loans are also know as fast cash and payday loans; they require no credit check and, as such, the borrowers credit history is of no consequence. Cash advance loans are high-risk and, subsequently, have high interest rates and are designed to help borrowers solve immediate cash-flow problems.

It is important to remember that there are financial institutions that are more flexible than others and more open to work with a borrowers of all credit ratings. In certain cases, borrowers with poor credit may find that they can obtain a loan for up to $20,000. Of course, unsecured personal loans are obtainable by almost everyone for virtually any situation.

While unsecured loans with low-interest are not easy to come by, there are alternatives available for borrowers with a less than stable financial standing. Again, with some research and by learning what is available, one should be able to find loan package that meets their needs.