The repayment period is one of the key issues when choosing an offer. Without going into detail, it depends entirely on the type of loan, the terms and conditions specified in the agreement, as well as on how regularly you will repay the loan. In addition, some loans can be repaid before the maturity date, while in others prescheduled repayment is strictly punishable by creditors.

Loan default is a default on a loan agreement, i.e. failure to timely pay interest or principal on a debt obligation or under the terms of a bond issue agreement. Consequently, a person who defaults on a loan is considered a loan defaulter. Penalties for loan defaults are applied according to the type of loan and the specific terms of the contract.

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.

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).

A loan forbearance is a waiver from the enforcement of a loan debt. In fact, it is the lender's consent to temporarily suspend the repayment schedule of the loan agreement. A loan forbearance is usually considered if a borrower faces an emergency such as a serious illness or loss of income. However, the specific terms of a loan forbearance are negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

A loan disclosure is a document or set of documents in which the lender is required to set out all of the terms and conditions of the loan you applied of (including any additional fees, charges, insurances, etc.) in a completely transparent manner and describe all details of the handling and use of funds and data.

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.

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 bridge loan is an interim or auxiliary loan issued by a bank for a period of up to 1 year at a fairly high interest rate to cover the borrower's current obligations. Usually such a loan is a temporary measure until funds are available from the main source of financing. Such a loan can be taken out by both individuals and legal entities. It is especially widespread in the field of venture capital financing, which is an investment in a business in order to receive a percentage of the total profits in the future.

A loan to value ratio is an indicator determined by dividing a loan amount by the value of the assets or property for the purchase of which the loan is taken. In simple terms, a loan to value ratio (LTV) shows what share in the cost of the property to be purchased on credit represents the loan. LTV exceeding 80% is considered to be one that is associated with higher risks, so lenders usually force the borrower to insure such a loan.

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.