A secured loan pledges an asset, car, equipment, home equity, and in exchange the lender offers lower rates and lower credit floors, because their downside is capped by the collateral. Unsecured lending prices the full risk into the APR. That's the entire difference, but its consequences run deep: it's why auto loans approve from 580, why equipment financing beats unsecured business loans for hardware, and why home-equity products carry the strictest floors of all (the collateral is your house, and lenders take that seriously, so should you). The full guide covers when the discount is worth the pledge and when it isn't.

What the full guide covers

• How collateral reprices risk
• Category by category: what secures what
• The floor effect: why secured approves lower scores
• Repossession and foreclosure: the honest downside
• When to keep it unsecured on purpose

The full guide is publishing soon. The short version above is accurate and current, and the concierge already knows everything in it.