| |
Even the most carefully managed household finances can run into difficulties, often as a result of the 'unexpected' problem becoming fact. Whatever the cause it is frequently the case that the only way out is a short term loan - short term in the sense that it is not over an extended period like a mortgage. The usual terms are loans of between £1,000 and £15,000 over a period ranging from 6 months to ten years - then there is a further consideration - is the loan to be secured or unsecured? 'Secured' almost always means that the value of your house will be taken into consideration, although any suitable possession of sufficient value may be acceptable. The advantage here is that a secured loan is much less risky and therefore more acceptable to the loan company, but the disadvantage is that you could lose your house if you default on payments. Failure on an unsecured loan is likely to result in you being blacklisted for credit of any sort, which could make life very difficult from then onwards.
Next you have to shop around, and the advice here is to be thorough. Check everywhere that you see loan offers being advertised; not just banks and building societies - many other offers are available at other less obvious sources. Ensure that interest charges quoted are always like for like - monthly rates will sound cheaper than annual rates and can mislead.
Decide your repayment period bearing in mind that a shorter term means paying less interest overall, but ensure that the chosen repayment is within your means; also consider payments insurance to cover for illness or unemployment. Finally check the conditions in the small print. You could well find that for example, early repayment carries a (sometimes surprisingly heavy) penalty, to cover the lender for loss of a part of the expected interest.
|
|
About Us 
