A VA loan is a mortgage loan secured by Veterans Benefits Administration that is designed for U.S. military veterans and certain members of their families. It is important to understand that the Veterans Benefits Administration is not a lender, it only supervises terms and conditions of VA loans issued by private lending institutions, including banks.

Although the range of interest rates offered by U.S. lending institutions in 2021 varies from 3% to 36%, the average interest rate for personal loans has remained about the same for the past 2-3 years, namely 11-12%. Of course, this figure is purely theoretical, because in practice everything depends on a variety of factors and criteria.

A subprime loan is a loan that is accompanied by a high level of risk for the lender. Most often the cause of high risk is the status of the borrower (poor credit history, low income, etc.) or the terms of the loan (no collateral for a high loan amount, poor quality of collateral).

Although the term has a rather wide range of meanings, in general, discount points are additional fees charged by the lender when issuing a loan. Through this fee in favor of the lender, the borrower is entitled to expect an appropriate reduction in the interest rate on the loan. In each case, the borrower should carefully evaluate whether it is advantageous to pay more as an upfront fee but receive a lower interest rate for the entire term of the loan, or to choose a higher interest rate with a lower down payment.

A payday lender is a lending institution that specializes in reviewing applications and issuing payday loans. As a rule, we are talking about microfinance organizations that offer unsecured short-term loans at high interest rates.

Collateral is a guarantee for the lender to get all the funds due under the loan agreement. In case the borrower does not fulfill his/her obligations or does not fulfill them to the full extent, the corresponding debt is to be repaid at the expense of the collateral. Collateral can be represented by residential and non-residential real estate, motor vehicles, precious metals, securities, etc. However, in fact, banks determine the list of property taken as collateral when granting loans. The property pledged as collateral under the loan must be necessarily evaluated.

An FDA (Federal Department of Agriculture) loan means a government low-interest loan system designed for people who are unable to take advantage of a standard mortgage. The main features of FDA loans are that there is no down payment and that the borrower may only purchase a home in clearly designated rural or suburban areas.

It is very difficult to keep track of all the offers in such a popular segment as payday loans. Because of the huge number of options, often differing only in nuances, it is possible to choose goof offers only with the help of so-called aggregator sites. Here you can see all the offers by different credit organizations, compare them and choose the most suitable for you with the help of convenient filters and a credit calculator.

The interest rate is the portion of the principal amount of the loan that the borrower must overpay to the bank for using its money. The interest rate can be calculated according to an annuity or a differential scheme. In the first case, the total amount of the loan is divided into several months or years in equal installments. With the second, the rate is charged on the balance of the loan and decreases with each month. Rarely a bullet scheme is utilized where the interest and the principal amount of the loan are repaid separately (first the principal and then the interest, or vice versa). If the rate changes at contractually specified periods, it is considered floating. If newly accrued interest is added to the interest calculated for the previous period (interest-on-interest scheme), it is considered capitalized.

Broadly speaking, a lender or a creditor is a loan provider, that is a person or legal entity giving funds to a borrower on the condition that they will be returned within a certain period of time and in a certain amount. The basis on which the borrower must satisfy the creditor is the contract, which specifies all the conditions under which the creditor provides the funds to the borrower. The lender has the option of assigning a loan to another person. In such a case, however, he or she must notify the borrower.

A non-QM (Non-Qualified Mortgage) loan is a mortgage loan designed for borrowers who cannot qualify for a standard mortgage. Non-Qualified Mortgage loans are assessed using non-standard evaluation methods, usually without regard to credit score and similar criteria applied to Qualified Mortgage loans.