Title: Secured Loans - What Are The Benefits? Word Count: 509 Summary: Secured homeowner loans are loans that are secured against the home of the borrower, and therefore are only available to homeowners. You will find a number of lenders that offer secured homeowner loans, and it is important to compare different loans because interest rates, repayments periods, and terms can vary from one lender to another. You will find some very competitive deals on secured homeowner loans these days, although the exact rate of interest charged will depend... Keywords: oans, personal, unsecured, secured, homeowner, tenant, car, holiday, debts, shopping, wedding Article Body: Secured homeowner loans are loans that are secured against the home of the borrower, and therefore are only available to homeowners. You will find a number of lenders that offer secured homeowner loans, and it is important to compare different loans because interest rates, repayments periods, and terms can vary from one lender to another. You will find some very competitive deals on secured homeowner loans these days, although the exact rate of interest charged will depend on a number of factors ranging from the amount that you borrow to your credit history and rating. There are a number of benefits that come with secured homeowner loans, and this includes: Secured lenders offer increased borrowing power, although the amount that you can borrow will depend on the level of equity in your home amongst other things. Your equity is the market value of your home minus any outstanding mortgage or other loans secured on it. The repayment periods with secured homeowner loans are longer than with unsecured finance, and this means that you can spread your repayments over a longer period thus keeping your monthly outgoings down. You can use your secured homeowner loan for one of a range of purposes such as loan consolidation, home improvements, buying a new car, paying for a luxury holiday, funding a wedding, and more. Secured homeowners loans are often available to bad credit consumers that cannot get unsecured finance, as the secured nature of the loan means that the lender has more security and can therefore afford to take more of a risk on bad credit customers, unlike unsecured lenders. These are a few of the major benefits of taking out a secured homeowner loan, and these loans provide an effective way of raising finances for homeowners. You will find that some lenders will only allow you to borrow up to a percentage of the available equity in your home. However, you will also find lenders that allow you to borrow up to the full level of equity in your home, and some lenders that will even allow you to borrow over and above the level of equity in your home. Of course, there are some risks that you have to take into account with secured homeowner loans too, and the nature of these loans means that you should give careful thought to affordability before you make any commitment. The major drawback with secured homeowner loans is that if you default on repayments you could risk losing your home, as the loan is secured against your property. Also, if you borrow up to the full amount of your equity you need to be aware that if house prices fall you could find yourself in negative equity, where you owe more on your property than the property is worth. When you look for a secured homeowner loan you should make sure that you check the terms, interest rates, and repayments, as well as checking eligibility requirements and borrowing levels to make sure that you choose the right lender and loan for your needs.