Loans Blog

If you’re unlucky, you can find yourself responsible for paying off someone else’s personal loan debt - maybe following a death, or someone defaulting on loan repayments for which you were the guarantor.

If this happens to you, it’s worth checking out your options before simply accepting the payment terms you are faced with from the lenders. By talking to an independent personal loans adviser, you may be able to reduce the repayments through a debt consolidation loan, and/or agree more suitable terms through negotiation.

Everywhere I go at the moment, I hear people chewing over the bitter ingredients of credit crunch. It’s certainly a reality that has well and truly taken hold of every corner of financial affairs in every walk of life, but our typically British reaction could be causing an unnecessary amount of stress for many people.

It’s important to remember that, whilst everything inevitably effects everything else, every individual set of circumstances is different and you may not need to worry. Just because certain banks aren’t getting it right, doesn’t mean that you can’t still find a good personal loan deal to suit your requirements and ease you through these challenging times. A no-obligation chat with an independent expert could show you why worrying is pointless and set your mind at ease. Call 0844 560 7703 to discuss your options.

You can apply for a Personal Loan for pretty much any purpose at all (as long as it's legal!) so it's always worth making the call - even if your requirements seem less than conventional.

A bridging loan can be a saviour in securing the purchase of your dream home. It’s a short term personal loan to finance the purchase of your new property, when your funds are still tied up in your existing property. When you sell the old property, you pay the loan back. Simple really.

Consolidated all my daily calories allowance into one easy pub lunch today. Thinking of taking out another personal loan for a smashing handbag I've seen... they still fit me whatever I eat!

Anyone who's had to take time off work and foolishly decided to turn to daytime television for company will know just how relentlessly many personal loan companies continue to pump out terrible, patronising adverts portraying the glorious, fun-packed life you could be having with the help of a miraculous debt consolidation loan. It seems they can solve any problem in the world!

What these advertisers have failed to grasp is the fact that people just aren't that stupid (and anyone who is stupid enough to be taken in by these ads is probably too stupid to turn on a TV so they're missing their market anyway!)

Unfortunately, the perception of debt consolidation that has been created by such bad advertising is a negative one. Say "loan consolidation" to pretty much anyone, and they'll probably start ranting about Carol Vorderman etc...

The reality, however, is that consolidation loans help an enormous number of people back to financial stability and actually offer a real opportunity to become debt-free. If negative advertising campaigns weren't so hugely influential to public perception, I'd imagine that a lot more people would seek advice about this kind of personal loan and end their financial worries.

"Darling bingo" is, rather worryingly, an anagram of bridging loan! If you're thinking of taking any kind of personal loan to finance your "darling bingo" playing, then DON'T!! If you've got financial problems, don't think that gambling will fix them - it's like cutting off a finger to plug a whole in your leg!

Get professional advice - it will see you properly on your way to regaining financial stability.

The principle of a secured personal loan is fairly straightforward - the lender will grant you a personal loan for the agreed sum, provided that you can offer something of at least the same value to pledge as collateral (ie - something which they can take possession of if you fail to meet the agreed repayments on that loan).

It's commonly thought that secured loans are only available to homeowners, but this is not the case. It's true that in most conventional secured loan arrangements, a home or other property is used as collateral, but there are many examples of other valuable items being pledged as security against the loan. This could be your car, your jewellery, land... basically anything that at least matches the value of your loan which the lender is willing to accept as collateral.

So, don't rule yourself out if you are not in a position to offer property against a secured loan - talk to a loans adviser and they may be able to offer you some good news.

With the happy-go-lucky days of the personal loan lender seemingly dead, estate agents are now feeling the pinch too, as the UK housing market finally starts to turn against them.

According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, around 15,000 estate agents' jobs could be lost this year.

Oh dear. Every cloud, etc...

According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, the availability of secured personal loans is dwindling rapidly, and the last twelve months have seen eight lenders withdraw from the market.

There is no need to go out and do a good old fashioned bit of British panic-buying just yet though. There are still plenty of lenders out there willing to do business, it's just a case of taking a cautious and well-informed approach to make sure you get the best personal loan deal possible. The help of a personal loan expert is highly recommended if you are not familiar with the market and its movements.

If you've found a perfect buy to let property, but your buy to let mortgage has not come through quick enough or you're waiting on the sale of an existing property to free up the cash, then a buy to let bridging loan could be the answer.

It's a quick and painless kind of personal loan arrangement, designed to make ends meet on a short term basis until your imminent funds arrive, allowing you to pay back the loan amount.

A swipe swipe here and a swipe swipe there, here a swipe, there a swipe, everywhere a swipe...

And before he knew it, Old Macdonald no longer had a farm.

Don't let your credit card borrowing get out of hand through ignorance. If you have an unmanageable credit card debt, you should seek professional advice about arranging a debt consolidation personal loan to get things back on track. Ignoring mounting credit card debt will not make it go away - it'll just make it grow.

The cost of running a car in the UK is fast becoming ridiculous. So what can you do about it?

If your vehicle is something of a 'gas guzzler', you might decide that drastic measures are called for - in which case, you could arrange a personal loan to finance the purchase of a new, more efficient car, and hope to see the cost benefits over the longer term.

Alternatively, you could just enjoy the financial benefits of driving in a more relaxed, calm manner. According to the RAC, fuel consumption in the UK could be reduced by a staggering 30 per cent if everyone just drove more efficiently.

So, chill out and save cash!

The secured loan is generally regarded as the most efficient personal loan option available, but what are they typically used for?

Secured loans are the most suited for big financial outlays - the list is endless, but some good examples include buying a house, buying another property, buying a new car or financing home improvements.