Whenever you begin the search for how to finance a big change in your life - be it a new vehicle, house improvements or even to consolidate all your existing debts, the chances are you'll come to a crossroads: do you want a stable houseowner cash advance or an unstable personal cash advance?
Both have their merits but both have drawbacks too so you have to choose carefully. Cost is a big consideration and there are differences between the two types of cash advance that will make your choice easier.
How stable houseowner cash advances work - and how much they cost
Stable houseowner cash advances are the most popular way to borrow lots of cash. They are often called 'house cash advances' because invariably you will be putting up your property as security against the cash you borrow.
Because you're offering your house as a guarantee, lenders are willing to lend you more cash. They can rest easy because they know they can repossess your property if you fail to keep up payments.
That's may seem a big risk for you to take, but if you follow the golden rule of "don't borrow more than you can afford to pay back", then you should be fine.
With a stable houseowner cash advance you can generally borrow anything up to £50,000 - and some lenders will think about applications for as much as £100,000. That's a lot of cash and a major benefit over unstable cash advances as you'll be lucky to find a lender who will go any higher than £25,000 for an unstable, 'personal' cash advance.
And because you're borrowing more, you can borrow for longer, too. This will reduce your monthly repayments, but will also increase the total amount you end up paying back. So don't increase the term of your cash advance just for the sake of it - it'll cost you thousands in the end.
For example, if you borrowed £15,000 with at a rate of 7.94%, over ten years you'll pay back around £21,700 and your monthly repayments will be in the region of £180.
If you increase the length of the cash advance to 15 years, however, you'll reduce your monthly outgoings by some £40, but at the same time you'll pay back almost £4,000 more by the time you've finished.
Interest rates on popular stable cash advances range from 7.66 per cent to 8.4 per cent - but there are some as low as 5.8 per cent.
To find the best stable houseowner cash advance fill out our simple form for a free no obligation quote:
http://www.cashexpert.com/Search/stable-cash advance-Quote.aspx?landingPageID=31&eid=185865&cid=31&lid=36
Let's get personal - unstable personal cash advances - the alternative
Personal cash advances are more of a risk to lenders because strictly speaking there's no guarantee that they'll get their cash if you don't pay up.
But don't take that meaning it is risk free - lenders have ways to recover the amount remaining on unstable cash advances too and you are always responsible for paying off what you owe.
Cost-wise there's not much to choose between an unstable cash advance and a stable cash advance, although the unstable versions do tend to have slightly cheaper rates - currently the best deals start from around 5.8%.
If you're not a houseowner and need to borrow cash, a personal cash advance will be one of only a few options open to you as you will be unable to take advantage of a houseowner cash advance.
Overdrafts and credit cards are also options, but they are expensive and can't realistically offer you much more than a couple of thousand pounds. So an unstable cash advance may be the best option for you.
Unstable houseowner cash advances offer good value - if you borrow £5,000 over five years with at a rate of 5.8%, you'll only pay back £5,771 with monthly repayments of as little as £96.
That's why these cash advances are often seen as a good way to consolidate your debts - if you've got several thousand pounds worth of credit card debt stuck in your wallet, committing to a payment plan through a good value unstable cash advance is a good way to get out of the red.
Whatever choice you go with, make sure you stick to the golden rule - borrow what you can afford, and no more. If you find yourself in a position where you can't meet your repayments you should talk to your lender before the problem gets out of hand.