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 Parent PLUS Loan is a federal loan program administered by The Federal Student Aid. Under this program, parents can take out loans to pay for their children's education. What makes these loans special is that they are unsubsidized and involve an origination fee.

A PPP abbreviation means Paycheck Protection Program which is a governmental initiative to support business. To participate in the program, you must represent a small business or a non-profit organization with up to 500 employees. Almost forgot: You have to prove that getting a loan is really necessary for your company.

The key difference between secured and unsecured loans lies in their very name. Secured loans are guaranteed by the borrower's property or assets, which protects the lender to a much greater extent. Unsecured loans do not require collateral, so there is more risk for the lender. These risks need to be compensated somehow, so the terms and requirements in unsecured loans are tougher than in secured loans.

The Grad Plus (Graduate PLUS) loan is a type of Federal educational loan granted by the US Department of Education for the purposes of further training and professional development. The specifics of this loan are that it is issued directly by the U.S. government and involves a low fixed interest rate. In order to be able to apply for the Grad Plus loan, one must be a citizen or a permanent resident of the USA.

To understand the big picture when choosing a loan offer, it is very useful to calculate the actual annual percentage rate (APR) on the loan. It includes not only the interest rate, but also all the additional fees and costs explicitly or implicitly included in the loan agreement. In principle, APR can be calculated manually using the formula, but there have long been special and very handy calculators for this purpose on the Internet.

A secured loan is a loan that is secured by some assets. The asset is actually the security for the loan. Security is necessary because the amount in the case of a secured loan is usually high. The security helps the creditor to remain secured in the process of repaying the money owed. And that is why it is called a secured loan. Because of the fact that the creditor is secured, he or she may rest assured about the funds, even if the amount is huge. As a result, an interest rate for secured loans is much lower than for unsecured ones.

Principal debt is the money that the client receives directly from the lender to solve the tasks of the loan. It does not include interest, penalties in case of late repayment, other types of charges due to changes in the terms of the agreement. When the contract is signed, payment requirements are spelled out. Borrowers usually make monthly payments in equal installments. The fee includes the body of the loan, bank interest and other payments that are part of the principal amount owed to the bank.

An installment loan is a very broad term that essentially includes any loan with a clear repayment schedule and number of payments (installments). Therefore, in this sense, a standard mortgage contract is also an installment loan.

Contrary to popular belief, getting a loan to a person with a bad credit history is quite possible. There is even such a term as a 'bad credit loan'. Not a single financial institution directly advertises such a service, but in fact many of them work with problem borrowers. The only significant nuance: because of a bad credit history, creditors have to hedge themselves by increasing the interest rate and tightening the conditions.