They say that all men are born equal, but this is not true when it comes to finances. The fact is that a person’s inherited family background, responsibilities, circumstances, and other factors, shore up and determine one’s financial status. When there is a gross disparity between the income and the expenses in a person’s life, they are forced to prioritize and there are circumstances when they are forced to borrow.
It is not always the people who have financial problems who go in for loans. People who want to expand their dwellings, or who want to live a sensational and adventurous life by traveling far and wide, and even those who just want to consolidate their liabilities, all look for loans.
When the option of loans is considered, the choice is between the secured and the unsecured loans. When a loan is a secured one, that means that the borrower gives as collateral an asset they own like a home, car, stocks or any other item of high value. If the borrower fails to repay the loan, the lender has an option to take possession of the asset and sell it for recovering the loan.
Secured loans are safe for the lender because they have the asset as collateral for backing up the money lent. For the borrower, the advantages are that the rate of interest is cheap, the amount of money got as a loan is relatively high and the repayment period is also reasonably long. Even if the borrower has a poor track-record for credits, the lender may decide to approve the loan since the asset is there as a back-up.
In the case of an unsecured loan, the lender does not insist on any asset to back up the loan. He or she considers the track-record of the borrower and assess his credit-worthiness. Based on this assessment, the amount of the loan and the rates of interest are determined. But the lender will always have a recovery plan to recover the loan in case of default by the borrower. This recovery plan could be asking for a guarantor to sign the required documents to the effect that in case of defaults by the borrower, the guarantor is liable to repay the loan. In the case of an unsecured loan – the amount lent is also much less than in the case of a secured loan, and the repayment period will also be shorter.
The borrower need not possess any asset for taking the loan in the case of an unsecured loan. Hence there is no fear of losing any asset in case he or she fails to repay, though they may face a civil suit for this failure. They can plan their income and expenses in such a manner so that they pay back the loan smoothly because of the short duration of repayment in the case of an unsecured loan.
Sometimes, loans are raised to kick-start the borrower’s business or for expansion of business. Other loans must be treated as temporary bail-outs. They are only quick-fix solutions. Borrowers should not get swayed by the availability of loans and become habitual borrowers.
Usually lenders are very strict and they will be obstinate in insisting on timely repayments. Hence, one should think of loans only as the last alternative. If such a situation arises, there should be concrete plans for repaying the loan on time.
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