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.

A consolidated loan is a form of debt refinancing that involves taking one loan to pay off many others. It usually refers to individuals facing consumer debt problems. The consolidation process can provide a lower overall interest rate for the entire debt load and provide the convenience of servicing only one loan or debt.

The main difference is that with a conventional loan the borrower is required to pay mortgage insurance only if the down payment is less than 20%, and with FHA (Federal Housing Administration) mortgage insurance is paid regardless of the size of the down payment. There is also a difference in the maximum loan amount.

A loan pre-approval is an agreement in principle by a particular lender to lend a specified amount to a particular borrower on exact terms and conditions. In fact, a loan pre-approval is a preliminary stage prior to the lender's final approval and signing of the loan agreement.

You can check the status of the loan using specific tools offered by the financial institution you choose. As a rule, the most common tools to check the loan status are a call to the hotline, SMS request, request via messengers (Viber, Whatsapp, Telegram) or logging into a personal account on the website.

The question is posed in too general a way. Broadly speaking, loan forgiveness is a procedure in which the lender allows the borrower to default on the debt or part of the debt remaining as of the date of such a decision. When it comes to student loans, only borrowers who have taken out direct federal loans are eligible for full or partial loan forgiveness. Unfortunately, loan forgiveness does not apply to educational loans taken out with private lending agencies.

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.

Before taking out a consumer loan, it is worth calculating all the interest and overpayments in advance, so that you understand the acceptability of the loan offer before applying. This way you will know in advance how much you will need to pay each month to repay the loan. Loan payments are most often calculated using two payment schemes: annuity and differential. Which of them is applied in a particular proposal is specified in the loan agreement. Knowing the formula of a particular scheme, you can calculate the amount of the monthly payment and know in advance its full amount with all the overpayments. In rare cases, a bank offers to choose the scheme.

Each banking institution has its own procedures, rules and methodologies for examining and analyzing the creditworthiness of a potential borrower applying for a loan. The underwriting procedure results in a positive decision on the loan application or refusal to grant a loan, or a compromise decision: granting a loan, but in the amount and/or under the conditions that are favorable to the bank, even if they differ from the client's expectations. That is, a credit underwriter is a specialist who makes such decisions.

A HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) is a loan with an agreed repayment period, in which the borrower's real estate or his share in the real estate is pledged as collateral. In this case, the borrower does not receive the entire amount, as in a conventional loan, but gets access to a credit line, which may be then used at his or her own discretion and in any amount.

Personal loan is a loan granted directly to individuals for the purchase of consumer goods. Such loans are taken not only for long-term purchases of expensive goods (cars, furniture), but also for everyday products, such as cell home appliances or even food. It comes in the form of either the sale of goods with deferred payment or a bank loan for consumer purposes, including through credit cards. It charges a fairly high interest rate. Usually, personal loans are accompanied by additional fees and charges, which increase the real cost of credit and form the so-called hidden interest rate. This is why choosing a loan from one bank or another based on the advertised interest rate on the loan may not always be the best choice. In this case you should be guided by the calculation of the full cost of credit.