With so many different types of loans and financial packages available on the marketplace it can be quite confusing to decipher the difference between them and to work out the unique advantages and disadvantages of each. This article aims to explain what each of these loan agreements are for and how they can be used to your advantage, as by picking the wrong loan agreement for your needs could end up costing you a lot of money.

Secured Loan

A secured loan is a type of personal loan that is secured against your home or property. This means that if you fail to repay the loan then you could be in danger of loosing your house. Generally people tend to take a secured loan if they want to borrow a large amount of money, over many years (generally from 5 years up to 20 years). Secured loans tend to be unpopular as they are secured against your property, however for some people who have a less than rosy credit history, a secured loan may be the only option available to them.

It is generally considered that a secured loan is a lot easier to obtain then other types of loan due to it being secured against a high value asset. If you are looking to borrow a large amount of money, for example over £25,000 then a secured loan again may be the only option open to you.

Unsecured Loan

If you are looking to borrow a large amount of money, up to £25,000 with a long term repayment plan from 5 to 10 years then you will most likely want to take out an unsecured loan agreement. The main advantage to taking out an unsecured loan is that you do not need to own a property to be able to get the loan. However this means that you will need a better credit rating to take out an unsecured loan as lenders tend to run more checks on applicants for these types of loans.

You should remember that if you are a homeowner and you default on an unsecured loan agreement you could still jeopardise your home as lenders can still take you to court to reclaim outstanding money. Courts may well take your assets into consideration, including your home, which may be sold to pay off your debts.

Repayment Mortgages

When you are looking to buy a house and you need to borrow money to buy it then you will most likely be looking for a repayment mortgage, although there are other types of mortgage available that you could consider (discussed below). With a repayment mortgage once the agreement has run to the end of its term then you will have completely paid off the mortgage- this is not necessarily the case with other types of mortgage. The term ‘repayment mortgage’ covers a wide range of different types of mortgages so you should do some research into the different types of mortgage that are available as each has advantages and disadvantages associated with them.

A tracker mortgage closely follows the ‘base rate’ set by the Bank of England. This means that if interest rates go down, the mortgage repayment that you have to pay are reduced. Obviously the opposite can also happen and you may end up paying more money. A capped mortgage is similar to a tracker mortgage, but the interest rates are set somewhat higher than the Bank of England Base rate. Therefore these mortgages cost more. The advantage to these mortgages is that if the interest rate goes up a lot then there is a point at which the interest repayment rate is ‘capped’. Another type of mortgage is a ‘fixed rate mortgage’. These mortgages have a pre-determined set interest rate. The advantage of a fixed rate mortgage is that you will always know what your repayments are going to be as these mortgage payments do not follow the Bank of England base rate.

Interest Only Mortgages

In contrast to a repayment mortgage, an interest only mortgage allows you to only pay off the interest on the mortgage initially. At the end of the mortgage, you then pay off in full the rest of the loan. These mortgages were also called ‘endowment mortgages’, as you would pay the mortgage interest monthly, whilst investing money in either an endowment account or pension package. Whilst these types of mortgages used to be popular as they were considered a cheaper option many people found that when they came to repay their mortgage their investments had not lived up to expectation and a short fall of money remained owing on the mortgage. For most people a standard repayment mortgage is the preferred method of borrowing money for a property.

Bridging Loan

A bridging loan is a short-term loan that is used to ‘bridge’ between selling one home and buying another. These loans are generally used because you have run into problems in selling your home and the property that you are looking to buy is in danger of falling through due to the delay. Generally these loans should be only considered as a last resort option as it means that you end up paying off two loans at the same time- the bridging loan and your existing mortgage.

Debt Consolidation Loan

A debt consolidation loan is a loan that combines multiple loans together to consolidate your multiple outgoings into one ‘easier to manage’ loan. When you have multiple debts, such as personal loans, overdrafts and outstanding credit-card bills then there is a temptation to take out a further loan for use as a debt consolidation loan. As it can be hard to manage multiple repayments which may need to be paid at different times of the month it certainly does seem easier to use a debt consolidation loan to simplify this process. However, when you take on extra debt you are likely to end up paying more money in the long run as debt consolidation loans generally run over a longer term and may have higher interest rates than your other loan agreements. Check interest rates carefully and research debt consolidation before you decide to go down this route.

Overdraft Loan

An overdraft is a loan agreement that provides you with a buffer of money you can use on your bank account. Some overdrafts are temporary, so you will have to make up the shortfall over the loan agreement, but more often than not overdrafts tend to have an unlimited run loan agreement meaning that the extra money is always available to you. Whilst it can feel good to have a safety buffer on your bank balance in case you go overdrawn, the temptation is that you constantly live in your overdraft month on month. This means you constantly pay interest on your overdraft. Although overdrafts are a fairly cheap way to borrow money (generally), individuals are better off only using an overdraft facility on your bank balance as a last resort. When considering a debt consolidation loan you should look at your overdraft interest rate carefully as most likely it will be much lower than any other loan you are likely to take out so consolidation this loan will mean you end up paying more money.

Credit Cards

A credit card is simply a loan on a piece of plastic, allowing you to buy things on ‘credit’ as and when you choose. You will need to make monthly payments against what you buy on the credit card, however you do not have to pay off the entire balance each month, so if you are looking to pay for something over a number of months, then a credit card allows you to do this. Managing your credit card spending is important because if you cannot afford to pay off your credit-card’s balance regularly then you will end up paying a lot of interest on the money you owe. Credit cards are one of the more expensive forms of loan agreement. Individuals should ideally try to save for things that they want to buy instead of putting things on credit. However having a credit-card can offer you a safety net in case things go wrong and you need to make an emergency purchase. Such as car repairs, etc.

Payday Loan

A payday loan is a type of loan that is a short term loan that gives the borrower a small cash loan until their payday cheque arrives. These loans are generally low in value and run over a very short term, therefore have a fairly high interest rate to compensate for this. These loans are useful in case of emergencies and you do not have access to funds, however they can leave you short of cash after your pay cheque as you normally have to pay the loan back in full from your next salary. This means you might run into problems after payday, which isn’t ideal.

Cash Advance

For those who run into financial difficulties and are looking for a short term loan which runs over a short period of time, but unlike a payday loan does not have to be paid back from your next salary then a cash advance loan may be the solution. Similar to a payday loan, a cash advance loan is generally low in value, under £1000 and have a fairly high interest rate to compensate for the normally short duration that the loan runs over. These loans can be helpful if you run into financial difficulties and you do not have access to other lending means, such as credit cards or overdrafts. However unlike a payday loan you will not have to pay this loan off completely from your next salary, this allows you to budget better and pay off the loan in smaller amounts over a longer period of time.