What is a signature loan

Contrary to popular belief, getting a loan to a person with a bad credit history is quite possible. There is even such a term as a 'bad credit loan'. Not a single financial institution directly advertises such a service, but in fact many of them work with problem borrowers. The only significant nuance: because of a bad credit history, creditors have to hedge themselves by increasing the interest rate and tightening the conditions.

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.

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.

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.

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 personal unsecured loan is a personal loan issued by a lender without any collateral from the borrower's side. Of course, unsecured loans are accompanied by an increased risk of the borrower's default, so the interest rate is much higher and the maximum loan amount is much lower than for secured loans.

A pay day loan is a type of short-term personal credit without collateral. The service got its name due to very popular need among the population to urgently get a small amount of money until the next paycheck. Pay day loans are mostly issued by microfinance organizations, but large banks do not refuse this segment of the credit market either.

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.

A loan to value (LTV) ratio shows how much of the value of the property a borrower acquires a creditor is ready to lend him or her. Since this is usually a mortgage loan, the LTV essentially shows how much of the value of the property you already own and how much you are able to pay as a down payment. This will directly affect the interest rate and terms of the loan. Moving to specific numbers, a good LTV ratio would be 80% for conventional loans and 95% for FHA loans.

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.

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.

A non-QM (Non-Qualified Mortgage) loan is a mortgage loan designed for borrowers who cannot qualify for a standard mortgage. Non-Qualified Mortgage loans are assessed using non-standard evaluation methods, usually without regard to credit score and similar criteria applied to Qualified Mortgage loans.

A loan margin is defined as the difference between the appraised value of a product or service and the amount of the loan issued by the bank for the purchase of that product or service. These two figures are fixed in the loan agreement at the time a borrower applies for a loan.