The Unfair Bad Reputation Of Secured Loans
To this day, the process of getting a loan is sometimes a grueling affair. The problem is, people don't want grueling, they want simple, fast and easy. Unfortunately that's not always possible, and was even less possible back then, where every step of the approval process implied a trip to the local bank branch. Secured loans had always been much less of a hassle, but just like the other loans, you had to physically go to the branch.
Since the World Wide Web started gaining in popularity in the mid-90's, the financial industry has been taking advantage of the many opportunities this medium offers, notably in the area of lending. When it comes to secured loans, the process has really been streamlined. In theory, this is the "safest" type of loan a financial institution can give out: the borrower gives a collateral of equal value to the loan that he/she is applying for, and allows that collateral to be taken away if the loan is not paid off. Thus what happens is that information that pertains to your capacity to repay the loan becomes largely irrelevant.
All you actually need to provide is basic details about you, your job, and submit yourself to a security verification. The most important part of the transaction is providing the documents that state that the collateral is yours and is authentic, to make sure that the financial institution that's granting you the loan will actually be able to take possession of that asset if you don't pay for your loan in a timely fashion.
Since you use money that you already have when you're getting a secured loan, many people think it's akin to a scam from the part of financial institutions. Their point is that the money is already yours, what's the reasoning behind getting an interest-bearing loan to get the same amount that you have in your savings? They do raise a valid point, but like many things in life, the answer is situation-specific. So when does it make sense?
1. You're saddled with bad credit. This is the lot of tens of millions of people. If such is the case for you, you know that bad credit lenders will be all too happy to lend you money, but only at very high interest rates because they know that your options are somewhat limited besides them. Yet, if you have savings, you can use them to break free from the ranks of people with bad credit by using them to get secured loans that you pay off on time. You get good interest rates thanks to the collateral you provide, and you rebuild your credit history while repaying the loan.
2. You have no credit. Millions of people suffer from what is called the thin credit file syndrome, which means that their credit file is either non-existent or doesn't have enough information in it to produce a credit score. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the lending industry, no credit is almost the same as bad credit, as they have no information on which to base their decision. You can remedy that and start building a credit history with secured loans.
3. You have an emergency. Sometimes it's not even about your credit. You might have good credit and everything but you're suddenly faced with unplanned and urgent expenses that you must meet. It might feel uncomfortable depleting your emergency savings fund. You might also not want to cash out a CD and forfeit months of interest. In those cases, you can borrow against those funds and pay off the loan over time as your money continues to earn interest.
As you can see, secured loans do have their uses. They're easy to get. They're equally quick to get disbursed. They carry low interest rates. And they can help improve your financial situation. In the end, they're a very good financial too to have at your disposal.
Since the World Wide Web started gaining in popularity in the mid-90's, the financial industry has been taking advantage of the many opportunities this medium offers, notably in the area of lending. When it comes to secured loans, the process has really been streamlined. In theory, this is the "safest" type of loan a financial institution can give out: the borrower gives a collateral of equal value to the loan that he/she is applying for, and allows that collateral to be taken away if the loan is not paid off. Thus what happens is that information that pertains to your capacity to repay the loan becomes largely irrelevant.
All you actually need to provide is basic details about you, your job, and submit yourself to a security verification. The most important part of the transaction is providing the documents that state that the collateral is yours and is authentic, to make sure that the financial institution that's granting you the loan will actually be able to take possession of that asset if you don't pay for your loan in a timely fashion.
Since you use money that you already have when you're getting a secured loan, many people think it's akin to a scam from the part of financial institutions. Their point is that the money is already yours, what's the reasoning behind getting an interest-bearing loan to get the same amount that you have in your savings? They do raise a valid point, but like many things in life, the answer is situation-specific. So when does it make sense?
1. You're saddled with bad credit. This is the lot of tens of millions of people. If such is the case for you, you know that bad credit lenders will be all too happy to lend you money, but only at very high interest rates because they know that your options are somewhat limited besides them. Yet, if you have savings, you can use them to break free from the ranks of people with bad credit by using them to get secured loans that you pay off on time. You get good interest rates thanks to the collateral you provide, and you rebuild your credit history while repaying the loan.
2. You have no credit. Millions of people suffer from what is called the thin credit file syndrome, which means that their credit file is either non-existent or doesn't have enough information in it to produce a credit score. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the lending industry, no credit is almost the same as bad credit, as they have no information on which to base their decision. You can remedy that and start building a credit history with secured loans.
3. You have an emergency. Sometimes it's not even about your credit. You might have good credit and everything but you're suddenly faced with unplanned and urgent expenses that you must meet. It might feel uncomfortable depleting your emergency savings fund. You might also not want to cash out a CD and forfeit months of interest. In those cases, you can borrow against those funds and pay off the loan over time as your money continues to earn interest.
As you can see, secured loans do have their uses. They're easy to get. They're equally quick to get disbursed. They carry low interest rates. And they can help improve your financial situation. In the end, they're a very good financial too to have at your disposal.
About the Author:
Jeremy Beckwith is an authority on the CD loan. Get valuable financial information by visiting his financial blog.
posted by Credit Counseling at
12:54 PM
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