Cheapest Secured Loans in the UK

Contrary to what the expensive ads want you to believe, secured loans aren’t an easy option for those with heavy debts. A home isn’t something to gamble with. These are purely loans of last resort. The only good reason for using them is to cut existing debt costs. Those considering secured loans for new borrowing or purchases should simply not do it. But if you really want a secured loan do it is important to do it in the best way possible.

Secured loans only available to property owners, where the lender can forcibly sell your house to get his money back if you can’t repay. When we normally talk about personal loans from a bank or building society, these are unsecured, which means there’s no automatic link to your home. Hence, if everything else is equal, an unsecured loan is always preferable to a secured one.


Finding the best Secured loan deal

Contact your existing mortgage lender. Many offer special terms for those with good mortgage repayment records. It won’t always be cheapest, but it’s a good benchmark for comparing others against.

Internet price comparisons

There are a number of free secured loan price comparison websites. Enter loan, credit and home details and they ill search out the cheapest lenders. The two easiest to use are MoneySupermarket, which is slightly more accurate, and MoneyExtra which is slightly quicker. These sites get paid a lead fee if you then click through to a lender. Be careful, though, that the quote does not include PPI insurance.

Non-Internet Users

Finding the best deal is a considerable undertaking, which using the web makes easier and quicker. If possible, find someone web-savvy and ask them to access the sites above to get the general prices, and then call up the cheapest providers directly. Failing that, for a typical 6 year £15,000 loan to a homeowner, Moneysupermarket is currently listing:

• No Adverse Credit: Winner: loans.co.uk (available via phone too) at 7.7% then Paragon Finance and Sterling Credit
• One CCJ: Winner: Paragon finance at 9.9% then Future Mortgages and Igroup.
• Three CCJs: Igroup at 16.5% then Loanoneplus and Future Mortgages.

Those with poor credit scores or little free equity may not be able to find a secured loan cheaper than existing debts. However, if you are under pressure, consult any of the free debt counseling services, who will be able to find a solution for you.


A number of completely free, charity-based or publicly-funded bodies offer a fantastic service: Consumer Credit Counseling Service, National Debt-line, Citizens Advice Bureau, and the Community Legal Advice. Do it as quickly as possible, the longer you leave it the worse it gets. Avoid commercial debt management companies.