Secured Loan. Why? When? How?

[DavidSpes]

Can I get a secured loan if I have bad credit? Do secured loans have early repayment charges? Are Secured loans used for debt consolidation?

[Petunia 100]

A secured loan is secured with an asset of some sort. What sort of secured loan? Home equity? Car title? Against a bank or brokerage account?

[dczech09]

Secured loans are simply loans that have a collateral pledged. For example, a car loan is SECURED by the car.

Debt consolidation loans are usually unsecured, meaning there is no collateral. A common exception would be a home equity loan or line of credit used as the consolidation.

Why are you looking for a consolidation loan? Please understand that debt consolidation usually carries negative side-effects. If you are looking to get out of debt, a consolidation will not necessarily help you as it is really just moving debt from point A to point B.

Bad credit? Whether you have a low credit score, or a bad credit history, it can be difficult to obtain any type of loan.

[Kundan Lal Rana]

If you have bad credit, there are still ways to get the loan from a number of options including from credit unions, by finding a co-signer or borrowing from friends or family.

[snafu]

David, if you have 'bad credit,' whatever the reason, I hope you understand that seeking to borrow even more just makes a bad situation worse. Nearly all consolidation loans make a significant profit for the loaner and puts the debtor in a bigger black hole. It doesn't help repair your credit rating. If you have a job and a regular income you likely can get creditors [the people who need to get paid] to work with you to pay off what you owe one by one by one. I don't want to leave you with the idea that it's easy to jump out of debt. It takes some work and determination. You'll likely need to make some changes to how you divy up earnings, at least for the short term.

There are a lot of smart people at SA who make suggestions to help you solve money issues and explain how money works so that you are in charge of your money instead of money dictating what you do. I look forward to cheering your every step forward.

[ashleyjohn]

If you can, try a credit union for your loan. Greater Central Texas Federal Credit Union gives loans at very low interest rates. You can try consulting them.

[YolandoAmaya]

Yes, you can get a secured loan even if you have bad credit. A secured loan is something, that's backed up by collateral. First of all you should visit the credit union, Tap Your Home Equity, Consider Peer-to-Peer Lending. You can get a loan according to your need.