A peer-to-peer lending is a way of lending money to unrelated individuals or 'peers' without involving a traditional financial intermediary such as a bank or other financial organization. Loans are provided online on the websites of special lending institutions through a variety of lending platforms and credit check tools.

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 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.

Most companies try to maintain a positive reputation in the market and conduct a transparent lending policy. However, there are some that are interested only in increasing profits. Often under the guise of favorable programs they use hidden fees, additional commissions and unreasonable fines, which lead customers to a debt pit. There are many parameters that may underline such companies. Among the main ones are the following: solvency and sufficient liquidity reserve, size and structure of equity capital, quality of the loan portfolio, information on the management, reputation and information transparency. You should also check for information on the company at Better Business Bureau and similar resources.

A USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) loan is a mortgage loan with no down payment issued to U.S. citizens for the purchase of real estate in rural and suburban areas. As a rule, the target audience of USDA loans are people with incomes below average, who cannot afford to buy a house in urban areas, as well as people who, for some reason, are unable to conclude a standard mortgage agreement.

Of course, it very much depends on the country/state, the type of credit, your credit score, and whether the credit is secured or not. But in the broadest sense, for people with a credit score exceeding 600, an interest rate of 10-20% might be considered as good.

An unsecure loan is a loan agreement that does not include any collateral on the part of the borrower, against which the lender grants the requested money. Large loans and mortgages are rarely granted without collateral, which can be either property (movable or immovable) or the borrower's assets.

A direct loan is a form of low-interest student credit administered by the Department of Education. A student may have more than one direct loan at a time. In addition, direct loans are divided into subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Under subsidized loans, the borrower is partially exempt from paying the interest rate.

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.

A credit line loan is a method of lending in which a borrower is entitled to receive and use the funds within an allocated period of time, with a disbursement limit and/or a debt limit. The credit line agreement includes an obligation of the bank to provide a loan to the borrower within a certain period of time under agreed terms and conditions.

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.