The good news for consumers with bad credit is that in today’s marketplace, there are more options for obtaining credit. While borrowers with excellent credit certainly have greater opportunity and access to higher loan amounts, favorable terms, and better rates for loans, borrowers with bad credit now have some hope to borrow money for specific needs.

Many lenders are putting together unique and specific loan products tailored to borrowers with bad credit. Typically, to get the best loan amount, terms and rates available, borrowers that have a bad credit history must secure loans. This means that they must put up their home, auto, or other valuable asset as collateral to reduce the risk to the lender of funding the loan. Homeowner loans are usually the most beneficial to bad credit borrowers if they have some equity in their homes and a valued property.

Obviously, it is much better to maintain good credit, but for many borrowers it is too late. Some lenders offer certain programs that are put together to give borrowers a chance to rebuild their credit while at the same time, gaining access to modest loan amounts. This helps the consumer borrow for specific needs and rebuild their credit for larger or more pressing future financing requirements.

With revolving debt and credit card balances on the rise, more and more consumers are finding themselves in situations with overwhelming and unmanageable debt. Some lenders also offer certain types of debt consolidation loans that allow borrowers to move balances from higher rate loans and cards to lower interest rate products. This is where second charges or homeowner secured loans are often used by borrowers with bad credit to obtain better rates than are available to them through unsecured loans.

The key for lenders is to effectively balance the risk to reward ratio of lending money. Lenders are obviously in the business of lending money so that is what they ultimately would like to do with any borrower. The borrower needs to offer support to their ability to repay debt or security to help offset the risk the lender perceives from the bad credit rating of the borrower. Consumers do need to be careful about overly aggressive creditors who seek to prey on desperate borrowers. Companies that approach consumers with offers that sound ‘too good to be true’, include up front fees, or hide unfavorable terms in fine print should be cautiously evaluated.