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Sunday, May 25, 2008

How To Go About Finding the Most Suitable Loan

When you need money for any occasion, the first option is to go to the bank and apply for a loan. What most borrowers don’t realize is that there are several types of loans they can get, and each one has different repayment terms and interest charges.
If you need money and have the ability to make monthly payments, you won’t have any difficulty obtaining the loan. However, most loans do have a clause in the agreement specifying whether or not you can make additional payments or pay the loan off in a lump sum earlier than the end date of the term.
If you know that you will have the money to do this before the term is up, you should make sure you read the fine print and ask questions about whether or not there is a charge for early repayment. This is the case with many mortgages.
Fixed loans are usually the cheapest because they have a set term and a set monthly payment. The interest rate is set when you sign the loan agreement and you can feel safe in knowing how much your payment will be for the duration.
If the interest rates are high at the time you borrow the money and you expect that within a year they will be decreasing, a variable rate loan might be the best one to choose. While this means that your monthly payments may be different each time, you will have the option of switching to a fixed rate loan when the rates do drop.
Also, in a variable rate loan, the interest rate usually stays the same for a period of time, such as six months, before it changes.
Flexible loans allow you to make payments in addition to your monthly payment. You can make several payments within a month or you can make a lump sum payment. Some of these loan plans allow you to take a payment holiday and not make a payment one month of the year so that you can use this money for other needs.
However, there is no holiday from paying the interest and the amount accumulated during the holiday month is added to the outstanding balance. There are also loans that require you to make the interest payment for the month during which you need extra cash, so you just won’t be paying anything off on the principal.
Lines of credit are another way to obtain money when you need it. These are loans in which the lender allows you to use up to a specified limit of cash. It is set up as a separate bank account and you only make payments on the amount that you use. The monthly payment is usually a percentage of the balance, so the payment could be different each month.
This payment includes the interest. A line of credit usually carries a lower rate of interest than a fixed or variable rate loan. You can make payments in any amount provided they are at least the amount of the required payment, and you can pay off the outstanding balance at any time without penalty.
The good thing about borrowing money on a line of credit is that it is always there for you to sue. When you pay it off, you don’t have to go back to the lender to apply for a new loan.
If you own your own home or have been paying your mortgage for a few years, you have equity built up in the home. This is the difference between what you owe on the home and the price at which it is appraised to sell on the real estate market.
You can borrow this amount of money in the form of a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit and use it for whatever you wish. It doesn’t have to be used for making improvements to the home.
An interest only loan means that you are only required to pay the interest on the loan each month. However, you can pay higher amounts so that the principal of the loan gradually starts to decrease.

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