Secured Loans FAQ

Secured Loan FAQ

What happens once I fill out a loan or mortgage form?
How much can I borrow?
I have little or no equity in my property. Can I still apply for a loan?
Are there any restrictions on what the loan can be used for?
How much will my loan cost?
What APR will I be charged?
Is the application confidential?
Will you contact my employer?
I've had financial problems in the past. Can you still help?
I'm worried about missing payments due to becoming ill or redundant?
Can I borrow again in the future?
Can I finish the loan early?
I'm self-employed. Am I still eligible?
What if I move house?
I have not been with my current employer very long. Am I still eligible?
I have not owned my property very long. Am I still eligible?
What is a secured loan?
What is a remortgage?
Are your interest rates competitive?
Will consolidation loan reduce my monthly payments?
How can you offer loan quotes without caring out a credit check?
What if I need a loan, but have a poor credit history?

What happens once I fill out a loan or mortgage form?
The form is send via secured channels. Once we receive it, a loan officer analyzes your financial information, and based on your credit standing, as well as other information, such as employment, assets and income, finds the lowest interest rate and the most suitable loan or mortgage provider for your circumstances.
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How much can I borrow?
You can borrow any amount from £10,000 to £250,000, depending on how much you can afford to repay each month. The loan can be over any time period from 5 to 25 years.
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I have little or no equity in my property. Can I still apply for a loan?
Yes you can. We have plans available where you can borrow up to 125% of your property value, less your existing mortgage balance.
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Are there any restrictions on what the loan can be used for?
No, you can use the money from your loan for virtually any purpose. The choice is yours. The majority of our customers clear some or all of their existing credit so as to reduce their monthly outgoings to just one, more manageable monthly payment. (See section on Debt Help Consolidation). Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. Quite often they also raise additional cash, to buy a new car or carry out some home improvements, and, remember, with cash in hand, you can often negotiate attractive deals when buying.
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How much will my loan cost?
That depends on how much you wish to borrow, and the time period that you choose to repay it over. For an indication of repayment costs check our loan calculator.
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What APR will I be charged?
Majority of our customers receive a rate that is less than 10 % APR. The APR is dependant upon your personal circumstances.
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Is the application confidential?
Absolutely! Your loan application is treated in the strictest confidence. We will not contact your employers, bank or any other third party without your prior permission.
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Will you contact my employer?
No. We would never contact them without your consent. If you have any pay slips and/or a P60, this will certainly not be necessary. If you cannot produce pay slips, we may ask your permission to obtain a brief reference from your employer, purely asking them to confirm your position, length in employment and your annual salary. We will not supply them with any details of your loan enquiry.
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I've had financial problems in the past. Can you still help?
Our financial expertise means we can even help if you've had problems keeping up payments in the past. We can arrange loans even if you have poor credit rating, have arrears or a county court judgement (CCJ) against you. In certain cases, but not always, an alternative interest rate may be offered. But it costs nothing to find out what we can offer you.
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I'm worried about missing payments due to becoming ill or redundant?
Insurance protection may be available on some plans to offer peace of mind to borrowers. Subject to status - ask for details.
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Can I borrow again in the future?
Of course. As long as you've maintained your regular payments, you could borrow more - even if you haven't completed your original loan. Just give us a call and we'll gladly provide a quotation for a further advance.
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Can I finish the loan early?
No problem. If you can afford to repay the loan before the anticipated completion date, it's to your advantage. The lender will calculate the outstanding balance in line with the requirements of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Or where it falls outside the Act, this could be subject to an early repayment charge by the lender.
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I'm self-employed. Am I still eligible?
Most certainly. Generally, we'd like to see two years' accounts, but even without trading accounts we can often arrange loans.
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What if I move house?
Loans which are secured on the property are simply paid off from the proceeds of the sale. But sometimes we can transfer the loan to your new property. Just let us know if you're about to move and we'll advise you on your options.
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I have not been with my current employer very long. Am I still eligible?
You are, generally we like to see 3 consecutive pay slips, but even without these we can often arrange loans.
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I have not owned my property very long. Am I still eligible?
No problem, we are able to help with a private rent reference or even without we can often arrange loans.
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What is a secured loan?
This involves the loan being secured against a major asset - usually your home or, in some cases, another property. These are cheaper than unsecured loans but if you miss any payments there is a risk of losing your home. Secured loans are most common when the requirement is to borrow a large sum of money (from, for example, £10,000 upwards) over a long period of time (up to 25 years).

It is not necessary for you to own your home or property outright to secure the loan although you must have sufficient equity in the property to cover the amount borrowed. Note, also, that it is possible to have more than one loan or mortgage secured on your property (although all lenders must always be made aware of additional loans taken out against the property).

The secured loan gives lenders a degree of safety since, if the agreed repayments cease, the lender has a claim on the property as compensation. The risk of losing their home in this way makes some borrowers wary of secured loans. However, a lender will more often than not take a long-term view and allow some leeway if you run into temporary payment difficulties since he has the security of knowing the property is there as collateral.

There are definite benefits to plumping for a secured loan - which, incidentally, is much easier to obtain than an unsecured loan which is generally only offered to people with a first-class credit record. The APR (annual percentage rate) is usually lower than on unsecured loans and there is more flexibility on repayment plans and terms.
Conventionally, loans are repaid through agreed monthly instalments. Flexible loans, which allow you to borrow and pay back at will, are more widely available than previously although interest is generally charged at a substantially higher rate.

When deciding between a secured loan and unsecured loan it is worth remembering that while unsecured loans are not tied to a house or property penalties for non-repayment will still be incurred.

Allow time to arrange a secured loan as your home may need to be valued before the advance can be agreed.

Secured loans usually offer a much more flexible approach to credit problems. They can also be used to consolidate credit card debts and other loans into a single loan with an affordable monthly repayment.
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What is a remortgage?
A remortgage is essentially changing your mortgage without moving your home.
The idea is that you switch your current mortgage to a new deal potentially reducing your outgoings. Alternatively they can be used to raise additional finances by releasing equity in your property. Your current deal does not have to ended for you to switch, though you should always be aware of any exit charges - you need to factor these in when looking at any new deal.

When you remortgage you are choosing to end your old mortgage scheme and switch to a new one. This normally involves switching your lender although you can sometimes change deals with your current provider. If you do remortgage with your current lender it normally involves changing your existing deal. You might for example change from a fixed rate deal to a variable rate deal if you thought interest rates were more likely to fall than rise.
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Are your interest rates competitive?
We have excellent and long-standing relationships with many of UK’ top lenders. Therefore we are able to find loans at very competitive interest rates, and we are sure to find a loan to suit your needs and circumstances.
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Will consolidation loan reduce my monthly payments?
Absolutely. Interest rates on a debt consolidation loan secured on property are much lower than those for unsecured loans. In some cases it is possible to lower monthly payments by up to 40%.
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How can you offer loan quotes without caring out a credit check?
When you fill out our form, you are applying for a pre-qualification for a loan. Pre-qualification means that certain information about the applicant is provided for the loan officer and the tentative loan decision is made. The borrower is typically asked about their credit standing, as well as other information, such as their employment, assets, income and contact information. Based on this information, the applicant will be told the amount and the interest rate of the loan he is pre-qualified for. This offer is tentative, because no credit check is carried out up until this point, and should the borrower decide to accept the proposed loan, a credit check will be carried out by the lender to confirm the borrower's credibility. Please note that some of the forms are actual applications and do carry out a credit check.
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What if I need a loan, but have a poor credit history?
Not a problem. We have experience in arranging loans for people with a wide variety of credit history and debt problems, e.g. mortgage arrears, CCJ’s and others..
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