Loans and Finance Explained

Secured Loans

What is a Secured Loan and what are the risks?

A Secured Loan is a loan secured on the homeowners property very much in the same way as a Mortgage is. A Mortgage on a property is known as the "1st Charge" - a Secured Loan therefore becomes the "2nd Charge." If a Secured Loan is never paid then obviously the Homeowners home is at risk. With the Mortgage company having the 1st charge they therefore reclaim their money first. A Secured Loan Lender would then follow as they are the 2nd charge. It is worth remembering that a Mortgage and Secured Loan Company would only ever repossess a property as a last resort.

A Secured Loan is ideal for Homeowners who are looking to raise finance by using their home as security. Traditionally a Secured Loan can provide Homeowners with a lower APR than that of an Unsecured Loan. Obviously a Loan Lenders APR varies depending on the personal circumstances of the applicant. A Secured Loan can be used for a variety of purposes. The most common Secured Loan purposes are for Home Improvements and for Debt Consolidation.

Home Improvement Secured Loan

A loan that is secured on the applicants home address for the purpose of Home Improvements. The loan can be used for a new conservatory, renovations, extension or simply for double glazing. Almost any form of home improvements can be funded by a secured loan. You may find that some secured loan lenders will require proof of what you will be using the funds for. This can be provided by simply gaining a written quote from someone who you are looking to have the work done by. Chances are a Home Improvement Secured Loan will actually increase the value of your property so it will be money well invested.

Debt Consolidation Loan

A loan that is secured on the applicants home address for the purpose of Debt Consolidation. The loan is generally used to consolidate (pay off) all existing credit by putting it into one secured loan and this generally reduces the monthly payments and therefore frees up more of your monthly income to use for more exciting purposes than clearing credit cards, store cards, loans or hire purchases! Sometimes the only way in which the monthly payments can be reduced is by taking the Secured Loan over a longer period than what the existing credit is currently on. This can increase the amount in total that you will pay back but customers who take a Debt Consolidation Loan generally are more interested in the reduced monthly outgoing on credit.

A Secured Loan can be used for other purposes besides Debt Consolidation and Home Improvements. They can also be used for a Car, Holiday or Wedding. Generally Secured Loan lenders do not raise finance for Business. For a Business Loan it may be a better route to contact your local Bank or Building Society.
Why would I want a Secured Loan instead of an Unsecured Loan?

There are many reasons why.

Repayment Period

A Secured Loan can normally be taken over a longer period than that of an unsecured personal loan. Unsecured Loans can normally only be taken over a maximum of 7 or 10 years. Some Secured Loan Lenders will allow the applicant to take the finance over a 30 year period and most will allow the finance to be spread over 25 years worth of payments. Obviously by taking the loan over a longer period reduces the monthly payment to the applicant - although you must remember the longer you take the loan over the more interest you will pay.

Loan Amount

A Secured Loan amount can often be a lot higher than that of an unsecured personal loan. Secured Loans can be taken up to £100,000 - with some lenders even allowing applicants to borrow more. An unsecured loan lender will normally only lend up to £25,000 which sometimes just isn't enough. We may surprise you with the amount you can actually borrow. Let Loan Machine do the hard work to find out.

Poor Credit

If you have poor or adverse credit then the chances you have of getting an unsecured personal loan are very slim. Poor or adverse credit can include many things, CCJ's (County Court Judgements), Defaults, Mortgage Arrears, IVA's, VAR's, Discharged Bankrupts and Missed Credit Payments. If you have any of these then your best route for gaining finance could well be via a Secured Loan. These don't necessarily prevent you getting a Secured Loan - there are many lenders that will lend even if you have a combination of CCJs, Mortgage Arrears and Defaults. We may surprise you by finding a loan that you didn't think you would be able to get. Let Loan Machine do the hard work.

Equity

Equity in your property will help you obtain a Secured Loan but that doesn't mean you have to have equity to get a Secured Loan. Loan Machine has access to lenders that will lend finance above and beyond what your property is currently worth - although to do this you generally have to have a good credit rating. But what have you got to lose? We may surprise you by finding a loan that you didn't think you would be able to get. Let Loan Machine do the hard work.

Self Employed

Self Employed people can often find it very difficult to raise finance. Secured Loan Lenders open the door to the Self Employed. They offer the ability to Self Certify your income. So even if you haven't been self employed for long or you cannot prove your income via accounts then that does not mean you cannot get a loan. If you are Self Employed with bad credit or adverse credit you may think you cannot get a loan - this isn't necessarily true. We may surprise you by finding a loan that you didn't think you would be able to get. Let Loan Machine do the hard work.

Low Income

Although all lenders will only lend responsibly to people who can afford it, Secured Loan Lenders generally are more flexible in their criteria. Some Secured Loan lenders will let you use Disability Living Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Working Family Tax Credit as well as many other incomes to fund a loan application. We may surprise you by finding a loan that you didn't think you would be able to get.

Low Interest Business Loans

Regardless of the state of the economy, all entrepreneurs, either new at their trade or old hats in business, when seeking financing, tend to get caught up in haggling over the lowest possible interest rate that they can achieve.

Who can blame them? Cost savings - especially while we are still experiencing recession like economic symptoms - may be the key to their business's survival and their personal financial future.

But, sometimes, merely basing a financing decision on just its cost (its interest rate in this case) alone can be even more detrimental. All business decisions should be taken in the whole - with both benefits and costs consider simultaneously - especially with business loans.

Let me explain: In today's market, any offer of a business loan - regardless of its costs - should not be taken lightly given the fact that these business transactions are hard to come by. Thinking that this interest rate is too high and that a better one will come along tomorrow may just be destructive thinking as nothing may come along tomorrow - especially in this continued sluggish economy and all lenders being overly cautious.

Further, if the business owner's decision hinges so much on the rate of the loan, then maybe a business loan is not something the business truly needs at this time or may be a decision that just spirals the business further along an unhealthy path.

Example: Let's take a simple but common business loan situation. A $100,000 loan for 5 years with monthly payments at 8% interest. This loan would require monthly payments of $2,028 for the next 60 months. Now, let's say the interest rate was 12% instead of 8%. This would result in a monthly payment of $2,225 - nearly $200 per month higher. A significant increase - nearly 10% higher with the larger interest rate.

This is what most business owners, when seeking outside capital tend to get caught up in - the lower rate means more savings for the business and thus a better decision.

But, what happens if the current lender will not lower the rate from 12% to 8%? Or, if another, lower rate loan / lender does not come along? Is it still a good business decision?

Looking at the cost of the loan or the interest rate is purely one sided and could potential affect the long-term viability of your business - the benefits of the loan also have to be weighed in.

Let's say that the business can take that $100,000 loan and use it to generate an additional $5,000 in new, monthly business income. Does it really matter the interest rate at this point as the nearly $200 difference in the rate is really trivial (especially over the 60 months period) compared to possibly declining the higher rate loan and getting nothing in return (losing out on the $5,000 in new revenue per month).

Or, what if the business would only be able to generate $1,000 in new, extra income from the $100,000 loans? Then no matter what the interest rate (8%, 12% 50% or higher), the business should not even be considering a loan in this situation.

Why do I bring this up? Simply because I have seen business after business either lose out on their future potential or fatally harm their organization over a mere one or two percent increase in a business loan rate. We are just conditioned to think that if we do not get the rate we feel we deserve - then the deal is bad for us. That can not be further from the truth. Know that these conditioning instincts we tend to have are more from the fact that competitors (those other lenders seeking our business) tell us we can do better or that we deserve better - but in end only finding out that those ploys never really work to our benefit.

The lesson here is that all business decisions are more complex then we may initially think or been lead to believe. We are taught from very early in life to negotiate for the lowest costs - like zero interest car loans or buy now with "the lowest mortgage rates in decades" - either case, one would not buy a car or a house (regardless of the interest rate) if there was not a great need - a need that provides more in benefits then its costs.

The same should be done with business loans. Loans are merely an asset to a business and should be treated as such. Business loan assets should be used to generate more in revenue than they cost - the more the better. If they are not being used (like any other business asset) to generate the greatest benefit that they can generate, then they should be pulled from whatever use they are currently being employed in and put into use that will generate the greater benefit. It is simply a law of business.

Thus, merely focusing on only one side of a business decision - the interest rate for a business loan decision - can have an unforeseen, adverse affect on the business - creating more harm then good. The entire situation should be taken into advice before a decision is made.

In fact, in the case outlined above, the interest rate can increase as high as 56% for the 60 months before the cost would outweigh the benefits - provided there were no additional costs associated with the loan.

In my experience, I have always found it much easier to look at the benefits first (like the increased monthly revenue that can be generated) then search out the lowest costs options to receive those benefits. But, as stated, this is essentially opposite of what we tend to be taught in our society or in our markets (remember the zero percentage auto loans - which have the lost interest revenue built into the price). But, sometimes the best entrepreneurs think outside the box and tend to go against any conventional wisdom we may have been subject to - mostly for the benefit of others and not ourselves.

Therefore, when seeking a business loan and finding yourself fighting hard for a small decrease in your interest rate - be sure to step back for a moment and look at the entire picture - as a low interest business loan may not be in the best interest of the business in all circumstances.

SBA Small Business Loans - A Huge Benefit to Start-Up Businesses

Setting up a new business is never easy. There are innumerable details that need to be taken care of. Start-up businesses are mainly dependent on loans for almost all their business requirements. It is therefore extremely important to find an appropriate and reliable lending source to cater to their financial needs. However, since most conventional lenders and banks are not keen on providing loans to new business owners due to various security reasons, opting for SBA small business loans can be an excellent idea.

Small businesses can contribute immensely in developing and enhancing the nation's economy. The Small Business Administration (SBA), which is a United States government agency that provides loans to small businesses with the aim of improving the country's financial condition. These loans are meant to support the establishment of small businesses by providing through adequate financial assistance. These loans cannot be obtained directly from SBA, but through a number of their lending partners working in accordance with the SBA rules and regulations.

The SBA offers a wide variety of loans that demand different qualifications of the borrowers. The various financial programs offered by SBA such as surety bonds, debt financing and equity financing are designed to cater to the different financial requirements of borrowers. In order to avail a loan from them, it is extremely important to understand how the SBA works. Let us discuss some basic rules and regulations of the SBA:

The SBA loans are provided to business owners at a lower interest rate than banks and other conventional lending sources owing to the fact that start-up business owners do not have adequate capital to opt for loans with high interest rates.

SBA does not provide loans to small business owners directly. Instead, they merely set certain rules and regulations that are strictly followed by their partners, including private-sector lenders, micro-lending institutions and community development organizations, who are authorized by the SBA to provide loans to start-up businesses.

The loans are provided to the business owners under an SBA guarantee to ensure that the loan is repaid on time to the lending partners. Business owners cannot avail SBA small business loans in case they have the eligibility to obtain loans from other lending sources on affordable and reasonable terms.

You can obtain SBA loans fast and without any kind of hassles. They can be acquired on an immediate basis as soon as they are applied for. This can be immensely beneficial for start-up businesses that need financial assistance for all their business needs. Delay in acquiring loans can create problems for them in setting up the business.

One of the most beneficial aspects of SBA loans is that they can be availed even if you have a poor credit record including bankruptcy, insolvency, IVA etc. It can be an excellent way to improve your credit records.

SBA offers various kinds of loans, including 504 for purchasing real estate and equipment, 7 (a) for common small business loans, disaster loans and microloans. Not all banks issuing SBA loans offer the same loan programs. Moreover, in accordance with individual bank policies, the loan requirements for a particular program can differ from bank to bank.
The SBA rules and regulations for small business loans are designed to help start-up business owners and can be extremely beneficial for them.