Personal loans, often referred to as personal loans, are among the most popular forms of loan, with more than 90% of all people in Australia claiming one.
However, some lenders are not obliged to give out personal loans and, if they do, the average borrower is often left with debt that exceeds the amount of the loan.
Here are 10 things you need to know about personal loans.
1.
You’re not the only one with a personal loan You may not have known you were a borrower until you’ve paid off a debt.
You can make a loan for as little as $1000, and in some cases, a higher interest rate is available.
The difference between the interest rates on personal loans is often the difference between getting a loan and having to repay the loan with interest.
For example, the interest rate on a 10-year fixed loan of $8000 would be $100,000.
However if the loan was for a variable rate of $2000, the rate would be less.
A 10-month variable rate personal loan would be about $500.
This is a far cry from a personal mortgage, where the interest on the loan is typically only about 4% per annum.
For many people, the difference is that a personal lender does not require that they pay interest upfront, meaning that a higher rate of interest can be paid at the end of the term.
If you’re not sure whether your loan is a personal or a variable, you can check with your local bank or the lending company that is authorised to do business with them.
2.
There are different types of personal loans A variable rate mortgage is a variable interest rate loan, while a fixed rate mortgage may be variable interest only.
The interest rate depends on the length of the repayment period, the amount owed and the loan’s value.
A variable loan is usually available for shorter repayment periods, and may require the borrower to pay more interest upfront.
Variable rate mortgages are available for longer repayment periods and generally require a higher level of income.
3.
You must have a credit history before you can get a loan Personal loans may require a credit report to be completed, which may include details of the credit history of the borrowers previous loan.
In some cases a credit check is also required.
For more information on personal loan debt check with a credit provider.
A personal loan with an initial deposit of more than $10,000 will require a $1,000 deposit from the borrower.
If a loan is paid off over the life of the borrower’s contract, the lender may be required to pay interest on all or part of the initial loan, including interest on unpaid principal and interest on outstanding balances.
If there is a repayment clause on the first term of the contract, then the borrower may be entitled to interest on their balance from the date of payment until the contract ends.
4.
You need to pay the loan back if you leave the property unpaid You’re often left on the hook for the balance of a personal credit card or loan, even if you’ve left the loan balance in place.
This means that a debt that is left unpaid will be charged interest on your loan balance, even though the interest is payable directly to you.
The amount of interest charged on a loan can depend on the interest method used, but the rate of repayment is generally set at 4% for variable rates, 4% or 3% for fixed rates, and 0.5% for both.
5.
The term of a loan will not be the same if you move The length of a credit contract may also affect how much interest the lender charges on the loans principal and the interest that the borrower is required to repay.
For most borrowers, the length or term of their credit agreement will also affect the interest charged, although some credit agreements will offer a longer term.
The longer the term of an agreement, the higher the interest charges will be.
The terms of some loans may vary.
6.
The default rate varies from lender to lender When a borrower moves to a new location or changes jobs, they may also face the risk of paying off more of their personal debt than they otherwise would.
In that situation, the default rate on the original loan could be significantly higher than the loan that they now owe.
The more likely it is that the loan will default, the more interest will be required on the principal and any outstanding balances on the borrower will have to be paid off before the loan can be cancelled.
7.
You might not be able to repay your personal loan in full The interest rates and terms of a variable and fixed rate personal loans may be different.
For a variable loan, the standard rate of 6% to 12% may be charged and there are also options for an interest rate of 2% to 8%.
For fixed loans, the rates are set at a range of 0.25% to 1.0% and the borrower must pay off the entire loan at the same