Secured vs unsecured loans: which one’s right for you?

If you’ve been looking into the possibility of taking out a loan, you may have come across the terms ‘secured’ and ‘unsecured’. The vast majority of loans fall into one of these two broad categories. In fact, it’s probably one of the most basic ways to classify different types of loan.

If a loan is unsecured, it means you don’t need to put anything up as collateral. Collateral is when you put down money or an asset to act as a guarantee for a loan. If you fail to repay the loan, this will be used to pay back your debt. Most standard credit cards and small personal loans are unsecured. To be accepted for an unsecured loan, lenders will look at your credit report and other personal information to assess your level of risk, and decide to lend to you based on this information.

When a loan is secured, it’s connected to something valuable you own. This collateral acts as a guarantee that you’ll pay your debt. If you are unable to repay your loan for any reason, the lender will have the right to take away this asset. They can then sell it off to pay back the debt you owe.

Mortgages are the most common type of secured loan. Here, it’s your home that acts as collateral; your lender can take it from you if you default on your mortgage repayments. However, other types of loan (such as large personal loans) can also be secured. The collateral is usually your home or something else of value, such as a savings account, your car or even jewellery. So in theory you might have your original mortgage and another loan secured against your house – this is sometimes known as a ‘second mortgage’.

Secured loans are less risky for the lender. In the worst case scenario, your lender can use your collateral to recoup any outstanding debt that you’re unable to pay. For this reason, secured loans typically:

• Are easier to qualify for
• Attract lower interest rates
• Allow you to spread your repayments over a longer period of time, giving you greater flexibility
• Make it possible for you to borrow larger amounts.

Lenders will look at your financial history, your income and your regular expenses when deciding whether to approve your loan application. However, since there’s less risk involved, they tend to be more sympathetic to those with a lower credit score when a loan is secured.

The most obvious problem with secured loans is that you risk losing something potentially very valuable to you. That's why it's particularly important to plan ahead to help make sure you'll be able to afford the repayments.

• Secured loans are riskier for the borrower. If you’re unable to pay back your debt for whatever reason, you may lose what you’ve put up as collateral, be it your home or your car.
• There are additional formalities involved, so it can take longer to set up the loan. For instance, your lender may want to have your collateral independently valued in order to make sure it’s worth enough to cover the amount you want to borrow.
• Additional formalities also mean increased loan setup costs. You’ll usually be the one responsible for paying these additional fees and charges.
• Defaulting on a secured loan will still damage your credit score, even though your collateral is used to settle the debt. You may also get charged a late repayment fee.

• They’re riskier for your lender, so interest rates are usually higher.
• The repayment period is usually shorter, so your monthly repayment is higher than it would be on a secured loan.
• You won’t normally be able to borrow large amounts.
• Your personal financial circumstances (income, expenses and outstanding debts) and your credit history are an important factor in your lender’s decision.

If you want to borrow a small amount of money over a relatively short amount of time, unsecured loans are usually the better choice.

They’re less risky for you, because your property (or anything you’ve put up as collateral) isn’t automatically seized if you default. And, while interest rates tend to be higher than those on secured loans, this is balanced out by a shorter repayment period and lower setup fees.

The flipside is that, since the borrower is taking on the majority of the risk, your credit history plays a more important part than it usually does on a secured loan. Your lender is trusting you to repay your debt in full and on time. So, they’ll want to see a history of responsible borrowing.

The best interest rates and terms on unsecured loans are usually reserved to those with the best credit scores. If you have a less than stellar credit report, you may get less favourable terms or be rejected altogether. You can check your credit score and report for free by logging into your ClearScore account.

Credit history aside, you may find that unsecured loans are simply unsuitable for certain purposes.

Depending on the lender, with an unsecured loan you’re usually only able to borrow up to £25,000 for a maximum of around 10 years. If you’re borrowing to finance a larger expense, maybe a new home or a major renovation, then you may need a secured loan.