Secured Personal Loans" is where the Lender or Financier, such as a Bank, Credit Union, Finance Company, agrees to advance the money to the customer for the physical purchase of an item, but takes a "goods mortgage"; that is to say a "Bill of Sale" or "security" over the item; such as a car. Read more...

Unsecured Personal Loans is where the Lender; more often a Bank than a Finance Company, agrees to advance the money to a customer for the 'worthwhile purpose' but takes no security over any item.

Examples of where Unsecured Personal Loans could be useful are purchasing Home Theatre stereo equipment, taking a holiday, weddings, jewelry, and debt consolidation(i.e. non tangible items). Read more...

Payday Loans are designed with two things in mind.
First they are generally taken out by people looking for money fast, and for only a short loan term; weeks or a few months. Because of the nature of this type of loan, often the loan does not fall under the protection of the U.C.C.C.
Lenders of payday loans therefore often do not charge; or atleast disclose an interest component on the money, instead they will charge fees and you will basically know a repayment amount, and a total amount you are paying back.
There are also often very substantial penalties imposed if payments are made late, and sometimes they may physically take an item of value of yours as security for the loan. Read more...

Debt Consolidation - Combining Credit Cards & Personal Loans.
The FIRST decision that needs to be made when deciding to apply for a debt consolidation loan is will you be in a better financial position.

That is to say, when you have combined for example a personal loan and a few credit / store cards, will the repayments be less, giving you a better cash flow position?

We have included a calculator for you that will give you a repayment figure after a debt consolidation loan.

Lenders in general set the minimum monthly repayment on a credit card at 3% of its outstanding balance. So generally speaking the consolidation of a card will get you to pay off the debt faster; and the repayments will be generally lower by consolidating if the amount of the new loan is over $15,000 because the term can be over 7 years.

Many people have 'collected' credit cards, and store cards over the years, and are now in a position where they want one manageable payment for them all, before they end up in unmanagable debt, so only one payment is made, at a frequency that suits; weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

In many cases 7 year options are used to consolidate cards and loan contracts originally structured over a 5 year term, making the overall repayment lower with a debt consolidation loan. Read more...

Secured lending is where the financier agrees to advance the money to the customer for the purchase but takes a "goods mortgage"; that is to say a "Bill of Sale" or "security" over the item; namely the car.

Vehicles are the most common item that is "secured against"; next to a house and is often referred to as a "Car Loan".

As the vehicle in this case is going to be "used" as security, there needs to be a way of ascertaining its value.

A dealer for example will have a price on the car, it will be advertised for a different price, and after negotiation with the customer, a third price will generally be agreed upon. This final agreed price; is also called, its "TRUE MARKET VALUE".

However there is a standard that is adopted by financiers; and in typical tradition, there is more than one standard; but mostly the value that a financier will put on a vehicle ( used ) is found in a book called "GLASSES GUIDE", and is also available on-line by subscription.

The other main guide is the "RED BOOK".

The term used is "booking the car". Read more...

Trucks come in a few different categories, depending on their size, weight and type.

Many Lenders for example will only finance a Truck up to 2 tonne.

There are a few though that will finance larger trucks, as long as the owner/directors if a company are asset backed and have a good credit history. Read more...

Motorbikes are one of the easiest items to finance, because they are generally bought by people who have a car, and can afford a bike as a recreational vehicle. Read more...

Marine Items, such as boats, and other watercraft, that can be registered like jet-skis, are basically identical to cars in the way they are treated.

There are a few differences, however relating to the trailor, and the engine, and particularly where insuring them is concerned.

Because the trailor, is a seperate item, and if the engine is an outboard motor, these items need to be identified and valued seperately. Read more...

A Business Loan falls outside of the U.C.C.C. and is not for 'Personal Use'. This type of loan is taken out by companies, or businesses that are using the money to buy an item used in their business life. Read more...

Credit cards are unsecured lines of credit, where a lender agrees to lend an amount of money that is paid back with a minimum amount of the outstanding balance each month; normally around 3%. Read more...

A Home Loan is a loan that is designed to purchase a house, or a block of land and a house to be built on it.

Typically home loans are over a 25 year term, some lenders may go to 30 years. Houses over a period of time 'appreciate', which means they go up in value, and most lenders will lend upto around 100% of the purchase price, so in most cases they will be able to sell the property and get their money back if the borrower does not meet the mortgage repayments. Read more...

A home equity loan is when the person whiches to borrow against the 'Equity' in their mortgage. As the property price increases and the mortgage repayments are made, there is equity building in the house. Often people wish to do some home rennovations, or go on a holiday, so they re-draw some of that equity to pay for it. Read more...

Mortgage Refinancing becomes popular for people when they have fixed rate home loans at an interest rate higher than current market interest rates, so they refinance their mortgage; perhaps to a variable rate, or fixed rate and 'Lock' it in for a period of time.

Often people will change lenders as they search for a better deal. You need to be carefull here though as changing the mortgage you have will often incur fees, and sometimes what you save in interest you lose in paying these fees. Read more...