Due to the increasing competition in the finance market today, all kinds of loans are easily available. Gone are the days when borrowers got tired of visiting financial institutions waiting for loans to be granted. Instead, lending institutions can be seen running after people nowadays in the hopes of handing them a loan or two. Needless to say, in such circumstances, getting a personal loan for any purpose is extremely easy. You can now avail a personal loan on the phone, in person or on line for a number of purposes, be it refurbishing your home, buying a new car or computer, getting married or just for taking a beach holiday. These loans are being approved irrespective of whether you provide any collateral or not. Thus, personal loans nowadays can be broadly divided into secured and unsecured personal loans.
Secured Personal Loans:
As is apparent from the name itself, secured personal loans are loans that are granted against a house or immovable property being pledged as collateral. Many banks accept other valuable property like jewelry or paintings also as collateral against secured personal loans. While the only disadvantage to taking a secured personal loan is that you might have to lose your property in case you fail to pay back the loan on time, there are a number of advantages too, especially when compared to non secured personal loans. Secured personal loans carry a low rate of interest and can be paid back over a large period of time, ranging up to thirty years if you want to. This reduces the amount of your EMI and puts a lesser burden on monthly finances than a loan for the same amount that comes at a higher rate of interest and has to be paid pack in half the time.
Unsecured Personal Loans:
These are personal loans that are granted without the borrower pledging any kind of property as collateral for the loan. The main consumers for these types of personal loans are people who do not own any kind of property or those who do not want to pledge their property as security because of the risks involved. Since the lending agency has no security against the loan, the rate of interest on unsecured personal loans is higher and the time for repayment shorter than that for secured personal loans. There is an upper limit attached to unsecured personal loans, unlike secured loans where one can borrow at least as much as the value of the pledged property. On the other hand, unsecured personal loans generally have to be paid back within a maximum of ten to fifteen years. These loans are generally faster and easier to get because there is much lesser paperwork involved than in secured loan.
Getting The Best Loan Possible:
While both secured as well as unsecured loans are easily available, it is prudent to shop around a little in order to get the best deal possible, no matter what loan you apply for. Go for a loan that offers the least amount of interest and the best repayment terms. Remember that on larger amounts even a fractional increase or decrease in the rate of interest can add up to a substantial sum of money. Another thing to keep in mind is that your credit history can be responsible for getting you a good or a bad deal. Someone with a good credit rating has got good chances of getting the lowest possible interest rates and extremely flexible repayment terms while a bad credit score will definitely increase the cost of your personal loan while making repayment terms more stringent. Therefore, it is generally advised that you try to improve your credit report as much as possible before applying for any kind of personal loan.