A loan is a debt that has to be repaid in time carrying fixed or floating rate of interest. Loans are of different types like auto, housing, credit card, mortgage loans etc. Apart from these there is another category of loans called consolidation loans that are used to pay off existing ones. Thus a consolidation lending may be defined as a large loan taken to pay off several smaller ones. Consider the different types of consolidation loans available:
Take the case of a student consolidation loan. The procedure involves summing up all your existing loans from different lenders and grouping them together as a single loan. The amount taken out as a consolidation amount will carry a fixed rate of interest so that it does not continue to rise over the next few years. The new loan will carry a lengthy repayment period. The periodical installment amount will also be comparatively less making it affordable to the borrower.
Some banks offer unsecured loans to consolidate credit card repayments. The interest rate in such cases may be higher than a normal mortgage loan but may not be as high as credit card interest rates. Such loans often do not bring about any change in the debt situation of the borrower who might still have credit card payments left and is also burdened with the responsibility of paying off the consolidation loan.
Haven't you heard of people applying for a second mortgage loan? This again is another type of consolidation. Their intention is to borrow against their home and use the funds to pay of other accumulated debts. This calls in a huge amount of risk because in case of missed payments the borrower stands to lose his home.