Secured Loan Advice | Second Charge Mortgages

What is a secured loan?

A secured loan allows you to borrow money using the equity in your property as security.

It is also known as a second charge mortgage because it sits alongside your existing mortgage rather than replacing it. You will have a separate loan, lender and monthly payment while your main mortgage continues as normal.

This can be useful when you need to raise money but replacing your current mortgage would trigger an early repayment charge or mean giving up an existing mortgage deal. A secured loan is not automatically the most suitable choice, so the costs must be compared with your other borrowing options.

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Could a secured loan help you?

You can use a secured loan for purposes including:

• Making significant home improvements
• Funding an extension or renovation
• Raising money while retaining your existing mortgage
• Consolidating existing borrowing
• Covering a substantial one off expense

The amount available depends on your income, expenditure, existing mortgage, property value, available equity and credit history.

Our team of advisers will review these details and present the options available before a full application is submitted.

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Why use a secured loan broker?

A secured loan is a significant financial commitment. The lowest monthly payment is not always the lowest cost option, particularly where borrowing is spread over a longer period.

Our mortgage advisers will compare the available routes rather than looking at a secured loan in isolation.

We will help you compare:

• A secured loan
• A further advance from your current mortgage lender
• Remortgaging to raise additional money
• Other appropriate borrowing options

Our Your Mortgage Expert advisers will explain the interest rate, fees, repayment term, monthly payment, total amount repayable and any early repayment charges before you make a decision.

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Keep your existing mortgage in place

Replacing your current mortgage is not always the most cost effective way to raise additional money.

You could have:

• A competitive rate that you want to retain
• A substantial early repayment charge
• A mortgage that is difficult to replace because your circumstances have changed
• Only a limited amount of additional borrowing available from your current lender

A secured loan allows your existing mortgage to continue while the additional borrowing is arranged separately.

We’ll compare the cost of keeping your mortgage with the cost of replacing it, so you can understand the financial effect of each option.

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Secured loans for home improvements

A secured loan can provide the funds needed for a major home improvement project without replacing your existing mortgage.

This can include:

• An extension
• A loft conversion
• A new kitchen or bathroom
• Structural repairs
• Energy efficiency improvements
• A full property renovation

Before recommending a secured loan, we will compare it with remortgaging and requesting a further advance from your existing lender.

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Secured loans for debt consolidation

A secured loan can be used to repay credit cards, personal loans and other unsecured borrowing.

This can combine several payments into one monthly payment. However, it also changes unsecured borrowing into debt secured against your home. Extending the repayment period can reduce the monthly payment while increasing the total amount you repay.

We will consider:

• The balances and interest rates on your existing debts
• Any charges for repaying those debts
• The proposed secured loan term
• The total cost of the new borrowing
• Whether consolidating the debts addresses your financial circumstances
• Whether another solution is more appropriate

Your Mortgage Expert will not recommend debt consolidation simply because it produces a lower monthly payment. The recommendation must be affordable, suitable and clearly beneficial when the full costs and risks are considered.

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Think carefully before securing debts against your home. Extending the repayment term can increase the total amount you repay, even where your monthly payments are reduced.

Secured loans with complex income or credit history

Your income or credit history does not need to fit a standard high street lending profile before you speak to us.

We can help with advice for secured loan applications involving:

• Self employed income
• Company director income
• Contract or freelance income
• Previous credit problems
• Existing loans and credit card balances
• Circumstances that have changed since your mortgage began

A lender will still complete affordability and credit checks. We’ll review your circumstances before approaching a lender and explain the documents required for your application.

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How secured loan advice works

1. Tell us what you need

We will discuss how much you want to raise, how the money will be used and your preferred repayment approach.

2. We review your circumstances

Your adviser will look at your income, expenditure, existing mortgage, property value, equity and credit commitments.

3. We compare your options

We will compare a secured loan with remortgaging, a further advance and other appropriate options.

4. You receive a recommendation

We will explain the recommended product, monthly payment, repayment term, fees, risks and total cost.

5. We manage the application

We will prepare and submit the application, deal with the lender and keep you updated as the case progresses.

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Why choose Your Mortgage Expert?

Arranging additional borrowing involves more than finding a lender willing to approve an application.

You need to understand how the new loan affects your current mortgage, your monthly commitments and the total amount you will repay.

When you use Your Mortgage Expert, you receive:

• Personal advice based on your circumstances
• A comparison of the available borrowing routes
• Clear explanations without unnecessary jargon
• Support with the paperwork and lender requirements
• One point of contact throughout the application
• Ongoing updates until the loan completes

Our role is to help you make an informed decision, not simply to arrange the largest loan available.

Find out whether a secured loan is suitable for you

Speak to an adviser before changing your mortgage or securing additional borrowing against your home.

We’ll review what you want to achieve, compare the available options and explain the costs clearly.

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Page last reviewed: August 2026