So you've gathered all your thoughts and decided you need a quick secured loan. For many reasons you've resolved that the time and circumstances are right for you and your partner. You might feel you need a loft conversion or the world cruise you have always promised yourself. But once this decision has been reached there's quite a bit of research to be done: where exactly do you apply for this loan? That is precisely what this feature is here to help you sort out.

Certainly one of the most important things is have you done all your sums? This may sound an unsubtle point, but before committing yourself and your family to your quick secured loan you must review your family funds. Could you afford the payments and how could such protection leave you by way of the money you had remaining available to you each month or week.

Surely the big question is bound to follow whether to use a bank or a broker? You may want to think about if you would prefer a quick secured loan via your bank or from an alternative source like a specialist brokerage. The particular reason of asking a bank for a loan is that you ordinarily know precisely what interest rate you will be paying and you may be friendly with the staff at the bank. But there is a common misconception that your bank will be always able to offer the most inexpensive financial deal which nobody else can compete with. In fact that's usually not the case at all.

Bear in mind that a bank is always tied to itself, by definition. They have only one institution from which to find their supply of finance: their own capital. The independent agent would be able to refer to a large number of sources of finance. In addition to that, the independent brokerage can additionally use their own understanding and match the preferred lender for your own situation. You will see the pros and cons of brokers it comes to searching for the ideal quick secured loan for you and your partner.

Also be aware that the major financial institutions are increasingly responsive to warnings about rising levels of debt. According to CreditAction 'At the close of 2005 the entire United Kingdom personal debt was ?1,158bn. Total secured supply of finance on homes in December 2005 amounted to ?965.2bn. This has increased 10.4% in the preceding year.' This is while the median United Kingdom domestic family financial deficit is ?7,786, and excludes mortgage loans.

Details about your credit history will almost always be looked into whenever you make an application for any type of quick secured loan, so you may expect this to be studied in some detail. If you are curious as to what your own credit history contains you are lawfully allowed to query it. You may write to Experian for a copy of your credit record, available for a small fee. Equifax is another company which will provide a similar service.

The predominant condition of secured finance, of course, is that it is tied to your property, much like a mortgage. If anything were to happen to endanger the payments on the loan then you stand in danger of losing your home. The law obliges all lenders of these loans (and their agents) to exhibit such protection warning prominently on all their sales brochures.

You should additionally ask your lender about protection cover in conjunction with your quick secured loan. If you are in employment then you should also consider such protection as a short spell of illness may incapacitate you for a while, or you could even become unemployed. If you work for yourself there is a much diminished chance of redundancy happening of course, but you may still become ill. Some other types of insurance include industry-specific injury and insurance for specific outgoings like your own mortgage.

So the best of luck with your quick secured loan. With a little armchair research you should be able to find the one that's right for you.