If you are a UK homeowner, then you have the advantage of being able to apply for cheap secured loans rather than paying the higher interest rates often associated with unsecured loans. This is not always apparent as cheap personal loans are often advertised with low interest rates, but quite often these cheap rates are only available for people with an impeccable credit rating, and the typical interest rate is often quite higher. Because the loan is secured, it means that the lender has a lower perceived exposure to risk, and because of this, the rate of interest, and therefore repayments, will quite often be cheaper than if the loan was unsecured.