Frequently Asked Questions
Loans and Mortgage guide
The cheapest way to borrow money is as a first
mortgage against your home. The lender has a charge against your home and
can force you to sell it if you stop repaying them - as they have this security
to protect their interests their risk is low and the amount of interest they
charge reflects the low risk.
The next cheapest option is a secured loan. This is
sometimes called a second mortgage. With this type of loan the lender also has a
charge against your home and can also force you to sell it if you stop repaying
them, but they only receive any monies after the first mortgage is paid off.
Because there will always be a first mortgage lender before them, the lender's
risk is higher than for a first mortgage and the level of interest will be
slightly higher to reflect the increased risk. Click
here to apply for a secured loan
Next cheapest is vehicle
finance. Like mortgages and secured loans, the lender will have effective
ownership of the vehicle by registering the debt against it. This security means
that the lender can take possession of the vehicle if you stop repaying. Unlike
property, the vehicle will almost certainly reduce in value over time, so the
lender's risk is higher. Interest rates are therefore higher than with loans
secured on property.
Most expensive is unsecured debt, such as
tenant's loans, credit cards, etc. All these type of debts are very high risk
for the lender, as they have no claim to anything that you possess if you fail
to repay the loan. Unsecured lending is the most expensive for the customer. Click here to apply
Interest rates are
usually quoted as a figure above the base rate or LIBOR - in simple terms these
are money market levels set by the Bank of England. Most lenders will quote
their rate as, for example "Base plus 1.5%". So if the base rate is 4%, this
example would charge 4 (The Base Rate) plus 1.5 (The level over base that they
charge) so their rate to borrowers would be 5.5%.
With mortgages and
some secured loans, you may choose to repay "Interest Only". This means that you
will still owe the original amount borrowed at the end of the repayment period,
so you may have to sell the property to cover this. The other option for
repayments is Capital and Interest (usually called simply a "Repayment"
mortgage) which means that you will have paid off everything at the end of the
repayment period.
What is a Secured Loan?
Lenders may offer lower interest
rates if you secure a loan against your home. This means the lender will have a
claim against your home if you default on the loan payments.
A secured loan has several advantages compared to an unsecured loan. A
secured loan is easier to obtain, even if you have an adverse or bad credit
history. Mortgage arrears, payment defaults, even CCJs won't necessarily stop
you from getting a secured loan, although the terms, particularly the interest
rate, will reflect your financial history and present circumstances. If you have
a good credit history, many lenders will offer secured loans of more than the
equity in the property, sometimes up to 125%, so if your home hasn't increased
in value as much as you had hoped, or a remortgage isn't practical, a secured
loan could offer you the best deal.
With a Secured Loan you can borrow
for any purpose, you can consolidate credit card and other debt to reduce
monthly payments. Secured loans may be used to finance home improvements,
purchase a new car, finance a wedding, cosmetic surgery, a business loan or a
holiday. Click here to apply.
What is an Unsecured Loan? Most personal loans are
unsecured loans. This means that the lender does not have a particular asset,
such as your home, to reclaim if you should stop payments on the loan before it
was paid back. However, the lender may still have a rightful claim on any of
your possessions up to the loan amount should you not be able to repay the loan.
Click here to apply
What is the APR?
The APR on a loan represents the true cost
of a loan to you. Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the
equivalent interest rate considering all the added cost to a given loan. It is a
function of the loan amount, the interest rate, the total added cost, and the
terms. The APR would equal the interest rate if there is no additional cost to a
given loan.
Mortgage
A type of loan used to purchase a property. In
order for a borrower to give a mortgage to a lender they must obtain a legal
charge on the property, giving security for a loan.
Remortgage
Replacing an existing mortgage with another one.
For example, you may wish to increase the amount borrowed to pay off other
existing debts, or to free up some extra cash for a
holiday or home
improvements. Alternately, you may just wish to switch lenders
to obtain a
better rate and therefore reduce your monthly outgoings.
Repayment calculator
Use the calculator below to calculate the monthly costs of your loan or mortgage. Disclamer: this calculator is used as guide only to the cost of your borrowing. Fasteasyfinance cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in the calculations.
Moneysupermarket.com offers visitors a free, highly detailed online price comparison service that searches for the best mortgage rates and finds the cheapest mortgage payments from over 8,500 UK mortgages.
Voluntary Liquidation
Lines Henry, a leading Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, can offer free specialist advice on Voluntary Liquidation for businesses with debt problems. Voluntary Liquidation is the process by which the directors of a company, with the assistance of a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, put the company into liquidation.
UK Loan Companies
| AA | AA Loans are provided or arranged, subject to status including permanent employment, by Automobile Association Personal Finance Limited. You must be at least 18 and a UK resident (excluding Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) to apply. Personal loans. AA Credit Cards are issued by Bank of Scotland plc. |
| Abbey | Abbey (previously Abbey National), since 2004, Abbey has been part of the Santander Group, the seventh largest bank in the world by profit. The combination of the heritage and familiarity of the Abbey brand backed by the experience, expertise and systems of Santander is driving Abbey's plans to become the best bank in the UK. |
| Alliance & Leicester | Alliance & Leicester is one of the UK's major financial services groups. It offers a broad range of financial services to personal and commercial customers. Alliance & Leicester has been a member of the FTSE 100 index of leading shares since 1997, when it converted from its original mutual building society status. |
| Barclays Loans | Barclays PLC, 27 million customers and clients in
more than 50 countries. Barclays have more than 127,000 people dedicated to a single aim: to create value for their customers and clients. Barclays returned a profit of £4.1bn in the first half of 2007 thanks to our portfolio of businesses, which is unique in the industry, our growing international presence, and our innovatory peoplePersonal loans, mortgages. |
| Cahoot | cahoot are part of Abbey - The Abbey personal loan lets you choose a loan amount from £1,000 to £25,000 and you can choose to repay your loan between one and eight years all at a fixed interest rate. |
| Capital One | The Capital One Group is a top ten credit card issuer in both the UK and United States, with more than $144 billion in managed loans and approximately 50 million world-wide customers, serviced by approximately 32,000 employees. In 1996 Capital One launched its first overseas operation in the UK where the UK bank currently offers Visa and MasterCard credit cards to UK customers. |
| Champion Finance | Champion Finance has been in business for nearly 20 years and is a well established company within the finance industry. |
| Central Capital | Central Capital is part of the Central Trust PLC Group. We are one of the largest independently owned finance companies offering loans to UK consumers. Since 1987 we have helped thousands of people, from all walks of life, to realise their dreams or sort out their finances |
| Debtbuster Loans | Debtbuster specialise in quick no fuss secured loans. Debtbusters are part of a family-owned company. |
| Direct Line Loans | Direct Lone have over five million customers and a broad range of products and services. Direct Line do business over the phone and on the Internet. |
| First Direct | First Direct is a division of HSBC Bank plc. |
| First National | With over 30 years of experience the First National Brand, is a leading provider of Mortgages and Secured Loans. First National sell products via a nationwide network of intermediaries |
| First Plus Loans | FirstPlus was formed in 1997 since then they havebecoming the market leader in providing Homeowner Loans. FirstPlus have a dedicated team of over 450 staff based exclusively in our offices in Cardiff, providing customers with a competitive product with a personalised service. |
| Freedom Finance | Freedom Finance was founded in 1983 as Wilmslow Financial Services. In February 2001, in line with our rapid expansion and a need for a clear brand identity, we became Freedom Finance. The largest part of our business is Freedom Finance Plc, which is one of the U.K's leading national finance brokers in personal loans to homeowners and mortgages. In addition to offering direct mortgages to customers Freedom also offer a loan and mortgage broking service to the intermediary market. |
| Goldfish | With more than 2 million customers, Goldfish is committed to providing financial services solutions that meet real needs. The range of products and services includes credit cards, loans, insurance products and travel services. |
| Halifax | HBOS is a major UK company. The Group provides retail, business and corporate banking, and insurance and investment services through its multi-brand strategy in the UK and internationally. HBOS is the UK's largest mortgage and savings provider and the number one provider of new investment products. |
| HSBC | Headquartered in London, HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world. HSBC's international network comprises over 10,000 offices in 83 countries and territories. |
| Intelligent finance | Intelligent Finance was launched in 2000 to offer banking customers a fairer deal. Since then they have helped thousands of our customers make more from the money they save, and pay less for the money they borrow. Intelligent Finance is a division of the Bank of Scotland plc. |
| Liverpool Victoria | Liverpool Victoria are the UK's largest Friendly Society. At present the Liverpool Victoria group of companies manages more than £8 billion on behalf of its members and customers. Together with its subsidiary companies, the Society is an insurance and financial services business in the United Kingdom. |
| loans.co.uk | loans.co.uk Started trading in June 1997 as Priority One Ltd, and changed our name in November 2000 to Loans.co.uk. Loans.co.uk is one of the fastest growing credit broker in the UK. |
| Lombard Direct | Lombard Direct, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, was established in 1995, and was one of the first providers of direct loans in the UK. |
| Lloyds TSB | On August 1 1995, Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) joined the Lloyds Bank Group. Later the same year, on 28 December, Lloyds Bank Group merged with TSB Group to form Lloyds TSB Group plc. In September 1996, Lloyds Abbey Life became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lloyds TSB Group. |
| MBNA | MBNA Europe Bank Ltd., a recognised leader in affinity marketing, is part of the Bank of America Group of companies. |
| M&S | Marks & Spencer Money, personal loans, car loans from £10,000. |
| Marble loans | Personal loans |
| Nationwide | Unlike banks Nationwide has no shareholders to pay, so they can concentrate on giving their members great rates and excellent service. And as their members are effectively our owners, we believe we should be accountable to them. |
| Natwest | Natwest are a members of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. NatWest is part of a financial services group which is the second largest bank by market capitalisation in the UK and in Europe and ranks fifth in the world. |
| Northern Bank | Personal loans, secured loans, mortgages |
| Northern Rock | Northern Rock is currently the 5th largest UK mortgage lender, the largest financial institution based in the North East of England and one of the most cost efficient UK mortgage lenders based on key performance ratios. |
| Norwich & Peterborough | Norwich and Peterborough Building Society was formed on 31 October 1986. N&P building society - mortgages and savings. The Society now has over 50 branches. |
| Ocean Finance | Ocean Finance, leading finance broker, offer a range of any purpose loans that are arranged though well established and recognised lending finance institutions. The majority of their secured homeowner loans are arranged through subsidiaries of major "High Street" banks or established finance providers. |
| personalfunding | Personal loans, secured loans, mortgages |
| Rainbow Financial | Personal loans, mortgages |
| reallygreatrate.com | Leader in USA home loans |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is one of the world's leading financial services providers and one of the oldest banks in the UK. Following the takeover of National Westminster Bank in 2000, the Group has continued to grow its business around the globe and, in addition to its strong UK presence, it has offices in Europe, the USA and Asia. |
| Sainsbury's bank | Sainsburys Personal loans from £7,000 to £25,000. Sainsbury's Bank plc is a joint venture with 50% of the share capital owned by the Bank of Scotland plc, a subsidiary of HBOS plc. |
| Tesco Loans | Tesco Finance, personal loans from £3,000 up to £25,000. |
| Weaver Finance | Weaver finance specialise in helping people who are unable to gain credit from a high street lender due to bad credit. |
| Woolwich | Woolwich Mortgages part of the Barclays group. |
| Yes Loans UK | Yes Loans offers a wide range of financial services, including debt management and IVAs. Tenant loans from £250 to £15,000. Homeowner loans from £500 and £25,000. |
| Yorkshire Bank | Yorkshire Bank, part of the National Australia Bank Group. Yorkshire Bank offers customers a highly integrated business and private banking service. Yorkshire Bank is a trading name of Clydesdale Bank PLC. |