A personal loan is a loan taken out for some personal purpose, such as buying a car, buying a home, paying credit card bills, or paying off consumer loans or bank loans. A personal loan may be secured or unsecured in nature.
In the case of personal loan consolidation, a number of unsecured loans are consolidated into another unsecured loan. However, this typically implies a secured loan against a property which will serve as collateral, normally a house. The owner of the property accepts foreclosure, decreasing the lender's risk and ensuring a lower rate of interest.
Personal debt consolidation is often implemented in the case of credit card debts. There are large number of personal debt consolidation companies who offer a variety of debt consolidation services.
Sometimes, personal loan consolidation companies offer a discounted or reduced loan amount when the borrower has been declared bankrupt. In this case, the debt consolidation company purchases the loan at a discount.
The principal advantage that personal debt consolidation companies offer is that the borrower is able to pay the loan obligation with the savings accumulated through decreased monthly installments.
For personal loan consolidation in the case of home loans, there are two types of home equity debt consolidation loans. One is the home equity line of credit (HELOC) and the other is the simple home equity loan. Both of them are regarded as second mortgages.
The advantages provided by personal debt consolidation companies include:
- A personal debt consolidation loan carries a lower rate of interest.
- A personal debt consolidation loan ensures that there is only one creditor and one monthly payment.
- The borrower is knows the exact amount of debt.
- Personal debt consolidation loans are also available to people with bad credit history.