The overall cost for comparison is 17.2% APR (typical). Secured Loans are provided by our sister company Think Loans & Mortgages Ltd.
What is a secured loan?
A secured loan is a type of loan only available to homeowners (it's sometimes called a homeowner loan too). Basically, your home will be used as a 'guarantee' against the money you borrow. This does mean that if you fail to make your agreed payments, your property may be sold in order to repay what you owe.
However, as long as you're sure that you can keep up with your payments until you've repaid the loan in full, a secured loan could be the ideal way of borrowing some extra cash if other loans aren't available to you.
If you're looking to get a secured loan, our sister company Think Loans and Mortgages could help you find a deal from their panel of lenders. Call on 0800 195 2910 to speak to an adviser, or simply enter your details in the form above to apply.
Is a secured loan right for me?
If you're a homeowner and you're looking to borrow a large amount of money, a secured loan could be ideal. Many unsecured loan providers will only lend sums of up to £15,000, but with a secured loan, you could borrow much more.
Secured loans can also often be repaid over a longer period. Most unsecured loans can only be repaid over a maximum period of around seven years (slightly longer in some cases), but secured loans can come with much longer repayment periods.
However, it's important to bear in mind that a longer repayment period means that you could pay more in interest - which could be more expensive overall. Also, the longer it takes to repay the loan in full, the longer you'll be in debt for - which could leave your finances at more risk if you face any costs out of the blue.
This being the case, it's important to make sure that you can easily meet your repayments.
How do I apply for a secured loan?
If you think a secured loan could be the best option for you, Think Loans and Mortgages could help.
We can search our panel of lenders for the right loan deal for you, based on your circumstances. What's more, if you're not sure what kind of loan will best meet your needs, we can discuss your options. Think Loans and Mortgages have long-standing expertise and experience in helping people with their finances - so you can be confident you're in expert hands.
If we find you a loan deal you're happy with, you won't have to worry about finding time to fill in paperwork and contact lenders. We understand that getting the loan you need should be as straightforward as possible, so we'll deal with all the paperwork and administration for you - giving you one less thing to think about.
So whether you're redecorating the house or trading the family car in for a new model, you can use the application form on this page to get a loan quote today.
Secured loans: what are the alternatives?
It's important to bear in mind that a secured loan may not be your only option. There are other types of loans too, which could be more appropriate if a secured loan isn't right for you:
Unsecured loan
Loans may be harder to get than they used to in many cases. Even so, that doesn't necessarily mean you won't be approved for an unsecured loan.
As long as you haven't had any serious financial problems in the recent past, an unsecured loan could be both safer and less expensive than a secured loan. Safer, because you won't risk losing your home, and less costly, because unsecured loans tend to come with lower interest rates - meaning you could pay less each month.
However, you should only take out an unsecured loan if you're sure you can repay it in full.
Bad credit loan
If you've had financial problems in the past - anything from missing payments, to being a recently discharged bankrupt - you may struggle to find a lender who'll provide the loan deal you're ideally looking for.
If you're in this position, a loan for bad credit could be the answer, as they're designed specifically for borrowers with a poor credit rating.
However, bad credit loans usually come with a higher interest rate than some other loans, so be sure to check the size of your monthly payments - and check you can realistically afford them - before you agree to the loan.
Debt consolidation loan
If you're repaying several debts well and on time every month, but you're looking to make things that bit more straightforward, a debt consolidation loan could help you to simplify your finances.
By consolidating your debts with a loan, you'll have just one payment to budget for and keep track of every month - and if you agree to repay the loan over a longer timeframe, you could cut the size of each payment you make. This could help you to take some pressure off your monthly budget and free up some room for your other expenses.
Note that repaying the loan over a longer period could end up costing you more overall in interest, and if you secure the loan against your home, it could be repossessed if you fall behind on your payments.
What will happen if I can't afford to repay a secured loan?
If you can't repay your secured loan as agreed, your lenders will be able to 'repossess' your home so that it can be sold - and the funds used to repay your lenders.
However, if you begin to have problems affording your payments, the sooner you take action, the less chance there is of things getting bad enough for you to lose your home. Repossession is usually a step that your lenders would rather avoid. So if you have a problem that will only affect you in the short term (e.g. you're between jobs or you've had to take extended time off work due to illness), your lender may accept reduced/frozen payments until you can start repaying your full amount again. Remember, however, that this could result in paying more in interest and charges.
Having said that, if you miss multiple payments and fail to come to any new agreement with your lenders, there's a very real possibility that your home could be repossessed. For this reason, you should only ever take out a secured loan if you're confident you can afford to pay it all back.
Need some more advice and guidance about secured loans? The Think Loans and Mortgages team could be just a phone call away from answering your questions on 0800 195 2910. Alternatively, you can leave your details and we'll call you back at a time that's convenient for you.