A VA loan represents a mortgage loan guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of the United States. The program is for veterans, various military personnel currently doing military service in the army, reservists and spouses (provided they do not remarry). It can be used to buy single family houses, condominiums and apartment buildings, as well as for building new houses. You can apply for a VA loan multiple times, as long as you meet the above requirements.

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.

Credit is an economic contractual relationship in which one party receives money, goods or property from the other party, not prohibited by the relevant legislation, and promises to provide reimbursement (payment) or return the resources in the future. In fact, credit is the legal formulation of an economic obligation.

Loan amortization is the process of gradual repayment of a loan by making regular payments of principal and interest on the use of credit funds. In essence, loan amortization is a repayment of the loan on the terms and conditions agreed in the loan agreement and over a specified period.

A loan origination fee is a one-time payment, usually ranging from 0.5% to 1% of the total loan amount, charged by the lender to compensate the costs for processing the loan application. In general, loan origination fees are not required by all loan originating agencies. In fact, they can be even negotiated before you sign a contract. In most cases, however, the absence of a loan origination fee as a separate payment simply increases the interest rate correspondingly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.