Unsecured debt consolidation loans are loans that individuals take out from a bank without placing any collateral for the loan. Such loans are availed to pay off credit card debt or medical bills. Normally, debt consolidation is undertaken to reduce and eliminate debt by paying off a high-interest unsecured loan, like credit card debt, with a low-interest secured loan like a home equity line of credit. Debt consolidation thus helps in lowering interest rates, which works in the long run to eliminate debt faster.

These are mostly in the form of personal loans. Personal loans are one way of paying off credit card debt if one does not own a home or a car. Many banks offer such plans for their customers who have a satisfactory banking history with them. However, interest rates on unsecured personal loans would be higher than a secured home-equity line of credit.

Unsecured debt consolidation loans are granted by banks and other financial institutions. These loans are not secured by property. Hence, they are also termed no-collateral loans. Getting approved for these types of debt consolidation loans are not easy. If you have too much debt, the majority of lenders are hesitant to extend you additional credit. On the other hand, if you have a very high credit score and earn a sizeable salary, obtaining an unsecured debt consolidation loan is feasible. Overall, individuals with a superb credit rating know how to use credit responsibly. Besides, these individuals will not risk injuring their credit rating.

Usually, the amounts disbursed as unsecured debt consolidation loans are lower than what would have been if the debt consolidation loan was secured. Wells Fargo Financial, for example, offers its customers home equity lines of credit for debt consolidation starting at $10,000, whereas unsecured personal loans for debt consolidation at capped at $10,000. So unsecured debt consolidation loans are essentially for those individuals who carry lower credit card debt, but still want to consolidate it and eliminate it completely.

When you obtain an unsecured loan, you can use the money to pay off credit card balances, services and medical bills, store cards, other outstanding loans, etc. Bear in mind that since you don’t have to pay everything as soon as you receive the money, you can decide which debts are more onerous and cancel those first. Unsecured loans do not require an asset to be used as guarantee for the loan; this is the main reason why tenants and non-homeowners qualify for these loans easily. It may seem as this type of loans have been especially designed for non-homeowners.

However, the truth is that homeowners usually get better deals, even for unsecured loans. This is due to the fact that the ownership of a property increases the overall credit of a person and thus, reduces the risk involved for the lender Should you decide to apply for a loan, be especially cautious about APR, prepayment penalties, repayment process and other fees and costs. Though you may think you’re about to get a great deal because the rate is lower than every other loan, other fees may rise the overall cost of the loan and you’ll end up paying more than with those other options. There are many banks and financial institutions providing unsecured loans.

While an unsecured debt consolidation loan is a good way to pay off high-interest credit card debt, very often individuals end up a few years later with a similar credit card debt and the added burden of paying off the personal loan. The critical element to debt reduction and elimination is to keep a check on one’s spending. There are secured and unsecured debt consolidation loans available to help one out of debt, but the process must start at the individual’s level.

Other Debt Consolidation Options without Collateral

Again, qualifying for an unsecured debt consolidation loan is tricky. Some lenders do not offer these types of loans. Furthermore, the lenders that do offer unsecured debt consolidation loans have strict lending requirements. Unfortunately, it's impossible to get approved for an unsecured loan with poor credit. In this case, you may have to explore other alternatives.

If a home equity loan or refinancing is not an option, you may consider transferring your high interest balances to a low rate credit card. This will lower monthly payments and make is possible to reduce debts.

Another option involves consolidating debts through a credit counseling or debt management agency. These agencies negotiate lower interest rates, and consolidate debts without collateral or credit checks.

If using such an agency, you will be placed on a payment plan. Because debts are consolidated, a single payment is submitted to the debt management agency each month. These companies are very effective, and can help you become debt free in five to ten years.

By Jennifer Bailey, Carrie Reeder & Mary Wise

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