What Is A Secured Loan?
A secured loan is essentially a loan that is taken out against your home or other collateral. In the context of this guide, when talking about secured loans and secured lending, reference is being made to that of a lender placing a legal charge over a property.
The most common type of secured loan is that of a mortgage. It is not within the financial capability of most people to purchase a property outright so most of us will therefore need to secure a mortgage.
Again, in the context of this guide, when talking about secured loans and secured lending, reference is being made to secondary secured loans, or ‘second charges’ as they are commonly known within the industry. Borrowers who apply for a secured loan/second charge are doing so to follow that of their first mortgage.
How Do Secured Loans Work?
To the average lender, secured loans offer a very appealing prospect. They are able to lend out large sums of money with the additional security of a property – They will subsequently have open to them a number of legal remedies in the event of the borrower defaulting there obligations and payments – This will of course include home repossession.
A lender will register a secured loan by way of a legal charge with which the applicant must give consent to in order for an application to complete. The charge is then registered at the Land Registry by the lenders solicitors.
When it comes to remortgaging, most secured lenders will require the outstanding balance to be redeemed at the same time as the first mortgage. An exception to this is when a second charge lender grants a ‘deed of postponement’, thus allowing the existing second charge loan to run alongside that of the new mortgage lender.
What Are The Characteristics Of A Secured Loan?
The characteristics of a secured loan share many similarities to that of a mortgage. The most common one being that if your do not keep up the repayments on the secured loan, your home may be repossessed.
In the case of taking out a secured loan, it is a common myth that your home will be safe so long as you meet the repayments on your first mortgage. This is not true. If you fail to meet the repayments on your secured loan, even if you are up to date on your mortgage, the lender can seek possession of your property through the courts.
Secured loans can be arranged on loan sizes that usually range from