For most people in the UK, home loans necessarily connote cheap finance. How can they not get cheaper finance when they have offered lien on home to loan provider? Loan providers however devise ways to overcharge borrowers who are not much conversant with the ways of the financial market. Interest is generally charged on the higher side, and borrowers also have to shell a larger sum as fees for the services of the lender.

So, does the concept of cheap home loans not exist? Cheap Home Loans do exist, but not as a rule. Cheap home loans have to be supplemented with sufficient efforts on the part of the borrower to make them possible. Though borrowers may not rest at any stage of the life of the loan and keep an eye on every cost that is added to the loan, efforts will have to be primarily made during the planning and decision making stage. The fate of cheap home loan is largely dependant on the work done during these two stages.

Every borrower need not be well informed about the rules and regulations of the financial market. The advice gained from external sources will be as much helpful as ones personal knowledge or experience. Among external sources, independent financial advisors are the most revered. Independent financial advisors are bound by Financial Services Authority rules to offer genuine expert advice. Because of the professional and independent advice that they offer, it will be difficult to discount their importance.

Home loans are offered against the equity in ones home. Equity is the approximate value that a house will fetch if sold. For a more appropriate valuation of equity, all mortgages and loans secured against home are to be deducted. Equity plays a decisive role in lowering cost of home loans. Lenders vie to lend to homeowners with larger home equity because of the potential safety that they allow. The safety will be in terms of the risk that a loan venture poses for the lending agency. As potential risk on home loans can be easily covered through repossession of the home itself, home loans are termed as low risk ventures. Accordingly, home loan borrowers are preferred over borrowers of unsecured loans.

Borrowers need to take maximum benefit of the preference shown by loan providers. Since, the number of loan providers dealing in home loans is very large, borrowers can easily compare and choose lender offering the best package. It is at this stage that the decision making skills of the borrowers are best utilised. Though inexpensiveness of home loans will be preferred, it must not be at the cost of the other virtues. Personal requirements of the borrower need to be held supreme during the search process. Thus, a lender who lends at the lowest APR may not suit the borrower if the amount lent is inadequate.

Borrowers can draw any amount between 1,000 - 500,000 as the home loan. The actual amount lent will depend on several factors like the equity in home, borrowers credit history, etc. The loan proceeds of a cheap home loan can supplement both mortgage and secured loans. For readers who are conversant with the uses of mortgages and secured loans, it will be common knowledge that mortgage proceeds are used for buying or constructing house or property and secured loan proceeds are used for other personal financial needs, like debt consolidation, home improvement, etc. Home loan proceeds can be used for either of the two. The tax benefits available to borrowers on mortgages will continue in cheap home loans too.

Now, we come to interest rates that form the most talked about subject in cheap home loans. Typical APR on cheap home loan is in the range of 5.75% to 10.3% variable. The actual APR pledged to borrower may differ from the APR printed on the lenders websites. Bank base rate changes and borrowers individual credit circumstances may lead to differences in interest rate. Negotiations on interest rates are possible. Borrowers, who are desirous of entering into negotiations on interest rate, will have to increase the amount of fees that they are ready to offer. The objective of these negotiations will be to bring the APR to the desired level.

Cheap home loan is a product of several decisions and negotiations. Thanks to the large variety and options available to borrowers, the decisions that borrowers need to make on home loans have risen tremendously. However, the key to cheap home loans will not be in meandering through these decisions, but in making them correct. Consequently, the larger the number of correct decisions, cheaper will the home loan be, and vice-versa. It is now for you to decide where you want to stand- with those who are finding home loans burdensome because of incorrect decisions, or with those who are enjoying home loans at the cheapest of rates.