Friday 30 March 2012

Personal Loans Are Now Easier To Obtain For The Self-Employed

By John Dorian


A lot of people are now looking at self-employment as their way out of corporate drudgery - you can be your own boss, and you are, as William Ernest Henley would have put it two centuries ago, the master of your (financial) ship. You can actually head out to the pub any time you please as long as your work is done, a great reward indeed for the risks involved in jumping the corporate ship to become your own boss. However, there are some challenges you must take into consideration. And that would include finding credit - not always the easiest challenge to overcome. It is widely accepted that lenders would not be too eager to lend to a self-employed individual, being that they may be new to their practice or perhaps unable to satisfy their requirements of proof of income.

However, as the character of the UK economy continues to change, and lifelong employment from a single company becomes ever more rare, banks and other lenders are becoming increasingly willing to lend to the self-employed. It has been observed that self-employed individuals are now as likely to be approved for a mortgage, or any other type of loan, as somebody who works at a more traditional job. With the myriad improvements in lending practices around the UK and the improvement in credit reporting for all three credit agencies now allowing lenders to scrutinize how people manage their debts, self employed applicants now have a greater chance than ever of loan approval.

How Does Your Credit Score Help?

All lenders have to do these days is look at your credit score, then they can ascertain whether you are worthy for loan approval or not. Your chances will be better than everybody else's when applying for a loan if you are able to prove that you can pay your debts in a timely manner - this underscores the sheer importance of maintaining sterling credit at all times. Financial institutions also use these credit reports to determine whether traditionally employed applicants would be eligible for a loan or not, and do so at the soonest possible time.

As self employment increases in popularity, lenders are beginning to compete for a market share in this increasingly lucrative market. The terms and rates available are pretty much the same as for other loans and definitely far better than what they used to be. Those who have been self-employed for some time and have previously qualified for a loan would be best advised to refinance now, as they could certainly qualify for less burdensome interest rates and terms.

Should You Apply for a Secured or Unsecured Loan?

Another issue to consider is whether you want a secured or unsecured loan. Secured loans may offer lower rates, albeit with a caveat - your home or automobile could be used as collateral. That said, the inability to pay would lead to the bank taking away your vehicle or house to recoup their losses. Unsecured loans, on the other hand, may have higher rates, but are not as high as before - they are also easier to obtain nowadays, which would be the reason why we advise you to go for this option lest you risk your possessions being seized by the bank.

You need not feel marginalized anymore by your state of self-employment - you now have a wide range of options at your disposal, and with terms and rates greatly improved, you can easily get a brilliant deal for yourself - don't hesitate to try these options today!




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