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Archive for January, 2007

Some of the advantages of secured loans

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

A lot of people are very wary about taking out a secured loan. This is because they are aware that if they fail to keep up with all of their repayments, they know that their house will be at risk. However, despite the risks of secured loans, there are also a number of advantages which mean that it would be wrong to overlook this type of loan. All you have to do is make sure that you do not borrow more than you can handle and that you are confident that you will be able to make all of the repayments.

The first advantage of a secured loan is that the interest rate that you are charged is likely to be a lot lower than if you were to borrow on an unsecured basis. This is because the lender is confident that the loan is safe due to the fact that it is secured over your property. While this may not be the best news for you, in a lot of cases it will be well worth it since you will be paying less for the loan.

Another advantage of secured loans is that you will be able to get them in a lot of cases, even if you have a poor credit rating. Lenders are far more willing to lend on a secured basis to people who they regard as risky. Again this is because the amount of the loan is backed up by your property.

Finally, you will be able to borrow a lot more on a secured basis than if you were to rely solely on unsecured loans.

Posted in Borrowing, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Financial products, Homeowner Loans, Homeowners, interest rates, Personal loans, Property, Secured loans, Spending, UK Finance, Unsecured loans | No Comments »

Freak storms leave poor poorer

Monday, January 29th, 2007

Watchdog groups have been warning the UK government that winter is the hardest time for the impoverished to survive.  The recent storms are evidence that the government is short sighted in their plans. While the government works in everyone’s best interest, it is those living in poverty that are hardest hit from unexpected phenomenon like freak storms.

The Bank of England made claims in the last quarter of 2006 that made the debt problem diminish in the wake of a high inflation rate. While this may have been true, it does not take into account the thousands of households who cannot afford the extra heat needed to survive storms and cold snaps.  The BoE’s statement never included the house repairs and property damage that storms and subsequent flooding cause.

Many homeowners are faced with an impossible situation.  They carry interest-only mortgages and 125% mortgages that include a 30% unsecured loan.  Now these consumers must find extra money to make repairs and heat their homes.

History suggests that winter storms will swell the numbers of people needing the help of free debt management groups like Citizens Advice. Unfortunately, those who need the help of a debt management expert are more likely to turn to credit cards, doorstep loans and even IVAs.

Many of these people found themselves without transportation home, and no money to find adequate shelter from the storm.

Power cuts left 100,000 people without power across the UK causing chaos.

It will take several weeks, even months, to assess the full damage and financial cost of the latest storms.

Posted in Bad Credit, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Credit record, Financial news, Homeowner Loans, Homeowners, Housing news, Insolvency, Personal loans, Property, UK Finance, Unsecured loans | No Comments »

Precautions to consider when securing credit card debt

Monday, January 29th, 2007

A very good way of clearing out of control credit card debt is to secure the debt on your home. This will give you a far lower interest rate and will mean that you have a bit more time to repay your credit card debt and you will be charged a lot less interest while you do repay the debt.

However, there are a lot of things that you should take into account before you decide to secure credit card debt over your home. For one thing, there are certain costs involved in taking out a secured loan and you should ask yourself if it is really worth incurring these costs to secure the debt. The debt will have to be fairly substantial and you should expect it take a significant amount of time if it is going to be worth taking this route.

Another factor that you should take into consideration is that it can end up taking you a very long time to repay a secured loan. For example, if you usually would expect to pay off a credit card debt in about six months, then it may not always make sense to secure this with a five year loan. You would be better off from an interest liability point of view, to pay the higher rate over the shorter period.

The other factor to bear in mind is that securing debt over your home always puts your home at risk. If you fail to make or keep up with your repayments, then you will be placing your home at risk and it may be repossessed by your creditors.

Posted in Balance transfer, Borrowing, Consumer Credit, Consumer debt, Credit Card, Debt Consolidation, Financial news, Financial products, Homeowner Loans, Homeowners, interest rates, mortgages, Personal debt, Personal loans, Property, Secured loans, UK Finance | No Comments »

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