With the real estate market on such a downward spiral this past year, lenders are having a harder time parting with their money, especially to high risk customers. If you have bad credit, then a secured home loan may be the only option for you. Basically, a secured home loan is when a lender decides to provide you a loan against security (such as your home) and that way they can provide a lower rate to you and have the confidence that if you default on your loan, they have a way to cover themselves if you default. Secured personal loans have the same principal for consumers with less than pretty credit needing a personal loan to consolidate debt, buy a car or cover unexpected emergencies but don’t have a very high FICO score. So don’t feel like you are totally out of the game if you have less than perfect credit because a secured loan may just be your ticket to getting that house or car you need. Just be absolutely sure you can make the payments because repossession isn’t something that anybody ever wants to deal with!