Secured loans in UK are taken for various reasons, the most popular being debt consolidation. People like to use their home equity to get rid of their existing debt burden. They approach a lender with all their debts and get a new loan with easier repayment terms, pledging their house as the collateral. Besides debt consolidation, secured loans are also a popular means of funding any car purchase, home-improvement, holiday, medical bills and for that matter any financial emergency. The lenders are interested only in providing the borrower with funds; they usually don’t bother how the borrower uses it. This freedom enables borrower to use the loan amount for any conceivable purpose, and people are using this fact to fund innovative expenditures like their cosmetic surgeries.

Secured loans market in UK is very competitive. There are numerous lenders who are coming up with new and promising lending offers almost everyday. Internet, newspapers and media are abuzz with their captivating advertisements. To ward off the confusion created by such campaigns, any borrower of a secured loan must act judiciously. The APR (Annual Percentage Rate), repayment schedule and monthly installments, valuation, solicitors and other fees should be compared across a spectrum of lenders. A conscious comparison of all the offers on various lending benchmarks will go a long way in getting a loan that is perfectly suited to him.

A large sum can be taken as loan with secured loans in UK. Lenders don’t hesitate in lending amount over £75000 in this case. The amount can vary according to the value of collateral and the creditworthiness of the borrower. The repayment periods in case of secured loans in UK go up to 25 years. So, the borrower has to pay low monthly installments, which are often very manageable.

Indeed, things appear very promising and comforting when you take a secured loan, but this is only a part of the picture. Secured loans in UK are not without their shortcomings. The most important thing to worry about is the home or the property. The lender will take that as collateral and although you will still be able to reside in the house, the lender will own it legally unless you repay the loan in full. Mind it, the repayment periods in case of secured loans stretch over a considerable amount of time, during this period your financial condition can also change for the better or for worse. As long as everything is rosy and you are in the pink of your finances there is nothing to worry. However, when your finances nosedive and force you to default on the payments there is a risk that the lender might repossess your collateral and leave you without a roof on your head. This should be kept in mind by every borrower.

Secured loans in UK are a panacea to borrowers with bad credit. They can get the required finances by pledging a collateral to the lender, despite having a bad credit situation. A borrower who has a bad credit rating can use the secured loans in UK to improve his credit ratings. If a borrower repays the loan with regularity and follows the repayment schedule like a religion, he will find that taking a secured was the most intelligent financial decision he ever took in his life.

A loan can be may secured against an asset that the lender could sell if the borrower stopped making repayments. The most common example of this type of loan is of course a mortgage on a house called a mortgage. It is equally possible to guarantee a personal loan with a car, valuable jewelery, antiques or even stock certificates (if they are worth anything these days, that is!).

A secure loan is better if you have the security to offer, want a longer term loan and are confident in your ability to service the debt – you don’t want to lose your security after all.

In contrast a non-secured loan is made to you as an individual and the lender is trusting in your ability to make repayments – and your willingness to do so. A classic case would be a young graduate in their first job – they might be making a reasonable salary but not have any assets yet but need a loan to finance a car or clothing for their new job. In this circumstance although the non-secured loan will cost a little more – it will not only allow the borrower to buy what they need, they will also be on their way to building up their credit record so that when the time comes for a big a loan they will most likely be in a position to be approved.

Both types of loans have their place – its up to the borrower to decide which is best in their situation.