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.

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.

The thing is, the Department of Veterans Affairs doesn't confirm the loan but makes specific requirements that appliers must follow to obtain the VA guarantee. One of those requirements strictly limits the amount you can loan based upon a formula called your 'debt to income ratio' or just 'debt ratio.' This parameter is a percent-denominated value which is calculated by dividing exact debt obligations by your monthly income.

A monthly payment consists of a payment of principal and accrued interest. The principal to interest ratio may vary. If a borrower is delinquent, penalties and late payment charges may be added to the payment. There are two ways to calculate a loan: annuity and differential. To calculate the approximate amount of the payment before the loan is taken out, all you need to know is the loan amount, the interest rate and the term of the loan. It is important to consider that in fact the loan may include a number of other payments, such as for insurance or informing about the transactions. This will be specified in the loan agreement. And in general to calculate the monthly payment you can always use a loan calculator.

Gradual repayment of the loan through regular payments of principal and accrued interest is the amortization of the debt. Specific repayment terms are determined according to the concluded loan agreement and are fixed in the payment schedule. The payments are broken down for the entire term of the loan agreement and consist of the 'principal' (original amount of the loan) and interest. The amount of the amortization charges in this case shows the total amount of repayment at the moment.

First of all, you need to know under what scheme you have to pay the loan: annuity or differential. Each of the schemes has its own formula, which can be found in a couple of seconds on the Internet. The repayment scheme is spelled out in the contract. You also need to know the basic terms of the loan, including the interest rate, and any additional payments.

A finance charge on a loan is the sum of all interest and other charges and costs, including one-time charges, that the borrower will pay over the life of the loan agreement, that is, from the time the loan is signed until the last payment is made and the loan is closed. Thus, a finance charge on a loan includes not only the interest rate, but also origination fees and insurance.

The minimum amount of down payment for a conventional loan is 3% of the loan amount. However, as a rule, this figure is higher, because credit history and other factors are taken into account, which increase the risks for the lender and require appropriate compensation.

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.

A hard money loan is a specialized type of asset-based lending by which a borrower obtains funds secured by real estate. Hard money loans are usually issued by private investors or companies. As with any other secured loan, the interest rate on such a loan is lower than usual due to the presence of a collateral.

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.