Applying for a secured loan you need to decide which type to choose. It depends on the collateral you are ready to use.
Get the money at the lowest rates on Star Loans with the most suitable asset.
What Can Be Used as Collateral for a Loan?
If you’re looking to get a loan, the first thing that many financial institutions are going to look at is your collateral. Collateral can be anything worth a lot of money… or even something that has monetary value.
You’re much more likely to get a loan if you have solid collateral to offer (i.e, something of high value that can easily be sold if you don’t pay back the loan). Let’s check what are the best options.
What is collateral?
It’s a type of asset — say, a car or home — that a borrower offers in order to qualify for a loan.
Collateral makes the lender more confident in making the loan because it gives them protection if the borrower defaults. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender can seize the collateral to help compensate for their financial loss.
This typically makes secured loans cheaper and easier to repay — but be warned: If you can’t make payments on a secured loan, you could lose your collateral. A secured personal loan often has some sort of lien against your collateral.
The lien gives the lender’s right to take your property if you can’t pay back the loan. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t still use your collateral as you repay the loan; you just need to remove the lien from your property once it’s paid off.
What Can I Use as Collateral?
We’ve covered the basics of common types of collateral on loans. When applying for any loan, you should find out what is acceptable for the corresponding loan type.
- Personal loans can be backed by a person’s personal real estate, home equity, personal vehicles, paychecks, cash/savings accounts, investment accounts, paper investments, or fine art/jewelry.
- No inspection Car Title Loans are backed up by a lien-free vehicle title in your name as collateral.
- Business loans can be backed by a blanket lien or UCC lien on business or personal real estate, home equity, and business property like machinery or specialized equipment.
What are the Benefits of Collateral Loans?
Secured personal loans can help you borrow money if you don’t have perfect credit and can’t get an unsecured loan. However, there are pros and cons that might not be worth the risk for you.
The advantages of using collateral are:
- Putting up collateral may make it easier to get a loan than if you don’t put up any collateral, particularly if you have a poor credit score or no credit score.
- Because your collateral reduces the risk for the lender, you might be able to borrow more money than with an unsecured loan.
- Secured loans typically offer lower interest rates and longer repayment periods than unsecured loans.
- Secured loans can help with your credit history. If this is important to you, make sure your lender reports payments toward your secured loan to the major credit bureaus.
What to Watch Out For
- Defaulting on a collateral loan means forfeiting what you pledged. For example, a necklace that belonged to your family, or your home. This can be a significant loss.
- Overspending can also be dangerous. Taking out more money than you need will lead to additional interest payments.
- A longer repayment period will lower monthly payments, but it also means higher interest rates and overall cost for the loan.
How to Choose the Best Collateral for a Secured Loan?
In this new era, people must know how much they are borrowing before they sign on the dotted line for a loan.
This includes: How much money you’re borrowing. What APR(or annual interest rate) there is on the secured personal loan. What penalties you may be charged if you pay late or pay your loan off early.
How much you will be paying monthly. What happens to your collateral if you can’t repay the loan.
Conclusion
With few exceptions, there are countless options for personal loans with and without assets. A secured loan is a great option for borrowers who don’t have much collateral to offer but are still able to find collateral elsewhere.
The downside of a secured loan is that if you default, you still end up losing the asset.