Secured Personal Loans
Secured personal loans are probably the most popular type of loan that consumers sign up to in the UK. They're also considered to be the easiest. With a secured loan you simply borrow money and put your house up as a guarantee. If you don't pay off your loan, then the lender can get their money back by forcing the sale of your home.
This might sound extreme but it's really just like adding a mortgage on to your property. And, because the lender knows that they have some security, you'll get the best interest rates on the market for these loans. This is a quick and easy solution within personal loan products.
But, choosing the best secured personal loans isn't always as simple as it may seem. The fact that these loans are so popular with consumers has led to a flood of them hitting the market. This isn't just a question of having hundreds of different loans to compare to and to choose from - it's not that simple. Fact is, you can look at two similar types of personal loan in detail and you can find that they're actually quite different.
Simplifying the process
Nobody wants to take the first personal loan they come across - it's common knowledge that shopping around can make sure that you sign up to the best rates. The first step you need to do when comparing secured loans is to look at the APR (Annual Percentage Rate). This tells you how much you'll be paying overall in percentage terms.
But, even comparing APRs isn't always a simple solution - for example, some lenders automatically factor payment protection insurance into the APR for a secured personal loan. This will obviously raise the overall percentage rate - and if you didn't take it then it would be lower. But, it's not always obvious that this - or any other additional factor - has been included in the APR. You'll have to drill down into the terms and conditions to find that out!
And, one of the problems with APRs is that they are percentages. They might be easy to compare but they don't tell you much in real terms. There is a way to work out what you'll be repaying for your secured personal loans in easy to understand terms. Ask for the TAR figure. TAR stands for Total Amount Repayable - this tells you - in hard cash - how much your secured loan will cost you for the whole loan term.
Making everything simple
Chances are most of us will lose the incentive to shop around for the best secured personal loans deals when we start to see how complex the products can be. Terms and conditions aren't designed to be a simple or exciting read - they're there to protect the interests of both parties involved in the secured personal loans process.
But, you can cut through the red tape and the legalese with our help. Talk to one of our experienced brokers and they'll tell you exactly what you need to know to make the best choice of secured loan. You'll get base-line quotes with clear indications of the extras you can CHOOSE to pay from the lenders with the best rates across the whole UK market.
And, as if that weren't enough, we guarantee you discounts on any secured personal loans you take out via our recommendation. With our help you access searches across every lender to find the very best rates with an additional discount. All delivered in plain, easy to understand English! There's no work, no research, no hassle and no effort on your part - just the right loan solution at the right time!
|