Depending on your circumstances, you may find it easier to be accepted for a secured loan. Whereas unsecured loans tend to focus heavily on your credit history, a secured loan is tied to the collateral you have to offer the lender as security, e.g., your home.

Getting a quote with us won’t affect your credit score. We’ll tell you before you apply whether you’re likely to be successful. 

When you apply for a homeowner loan (or any type of credit), the lender will carry out a hard search on your credit file. This will be recorded on your credit report, which may cause your credit score to dip temporarily. But, as long as you keep up to date with your monthly repayments, your credit rating will recover and should increase over time.  

Please note, if you stop paying your loan, then your credit score will be affected, and your home may be put at risk. 

There is no predefined credit score requirement for a secured loan. As you are using your home as collateral, there is less of an emphasis on your credit history. This is because the lender could, as a last resort, repossess your home should you fail to keep up with your repayments.

Rates vary on a case-by-case basis, but a typical variable rate can be between 5 and 10%.

APRC (annual percentage rate of charge) represents the total cost of a secured loan or mortgage to the customer, shown as an annual percentage of the total loan amount. It includes all interest rates and charges applied over the full loan term, making it useful for comparison.  

Where you see a ‘representative APRC’ advertised, this means 51% or more of customers receive this rate or better. 

At Ocean, we’ve arranged borrowing with rates from 8.5% to 23.6% APRC, which has allowed us to help customers with a range of credit histories. 

Home equity refers to the amount of value in a property that you own outright, as opposed to the amount you owe on the mortgage or secured loan. If your property is worth £300k, and you have £100k remaining on your mortgage, this would mean you have £200k of equity in the property (approximately 67%). The greater the amount of equity you hold, the more favourable you appear to lenders. It is important to remember that the value of property may increase or decrease over time.

The total cost (represented by the APRC) will vary depending on the lender and your individual circumstances. It includes:  

Homeowner loan rates 

When deciding what interest rate to offer you, lenders will consider factors such as: 

• your affordability  
• loan term and amount 
• your credit history 
• the value of your home
• how much equity you have 

The more equity you have and the longer your loan term, the lower your loan rate may be. But you may pay more interest overall on a larger sum spread over a longer period.

Other costs 

Depending on the terms and conditions of your loan agreement, other costs may be payable, such as: 

• a lender fee (also known as an arrangement fee) 
• a broker fee
• a lender exit fee  

Our Broker Fee covers advice, service, and the processing of your application from start to finish. We’ll cover the cost of consent from your mortgage lender, and it’s likely we’ll need to complete an online, drive-by, or full valuation of your property, which again we will cover.  

With us, you can choose the pay the Broker Fee separately or have it added to the total amount of credit, which would increase the amount of interest you pay overall.  

You can get a quote in minutes and see the rates you qualify for. Once your application has been approved, it usually takes around three to four weeks to receive a homeowner loan. The sooner you read and sign your agreement and share any required documentation with us, the quicker you’ll receive your loan. Using our app is the fastest way to proceed.

Yes, you can pay off your loan early. Some lenders may allow you to make overpayments to clear your loan quicker or give you the option to pay it off in full at any time. We have options that mean you may be able to do this without charges. 

Talk to your lender straight away to see if there’s anything they can do for you. If you think it’s only a short-term problem, your lender may be able to give you extra time to make the payment – and could even hold off making a note of the late/missed payment on your credit file. 

Life can take an unexpected twist when we least expect it. If a change in your situation means you’ll struggle to pay back your loan in the long run, your lender could still help. Don’t leave it to chance and hope for the best – especially when your home is at risk. You can also talk to:

• Citizens Advice
• MoneyHelper
• National Debtline 
• StepChange