A large number of people in the UK currently find themselves in the position of having a bad credit rating, a situation which makes it hard to secure financing in whichever form, from loans to mortgages. Getting a bad credit rating can be easy, simply being late on a single loan repayment can adversely effect your rating, as can having County Court Judgements (CCJs) or being previously declared as bankrupt.

If you are in a situation of having bad credit, you needn’t feel that getting credit is impossible, as there are a number of companies that specialise in offering finance to people with bad credit. Typically being accepted for a secured loan will be easier than getting an unsecured loan, so if you are a homeowner you may find that your situation is not as bad as you initially thought.

When seeking a loan, if you can offer your home as security you will not only be more likely to be accepted, but you will also find you will be offered far more favourable rates if you are accepted. This is because the lender is at less risk of not getting their money paid back, as the house offered as security lets the lender know that the funds are available albeit tied up in the property, and so can be released if completely necessary in order to cover the outstanding debt.

There are a number of financial products on offer to people with bad credit ratings, including bad credit mortgages, bad credit loans and bad credit credit cards. All of these take into account your situation, and the mortgage will even help you to get back to a normal credit rating. Keeping to the repayments on any form of bad credit loan can help to repair your credit rating, which will put you in a more favourable situation for the future as you will be able to choose from the full range of loans and mortgages where you will find more competitive interest rates.

With a bad credit mortgage, the interest rates that you will pay shouldn’t be much higher than on a standard mortgage, although you will be required to put down a bigger deposit – often as much as 25% of the value of the house. As mentioned previously, keeping up with the repayments on a bad credit mortgage can repair your credit rating completely, giving you the option of remortgaging to a more competitive mortgage with lower interest rates.

Whatever your situation or financial needs, be it looking for a mortgage, loan or credit card, there are companies out there who specialise in offering these services to people with a bad credit rating. See our list of the best bad credit mortgages, bad credit loans and bad credit credit cards for guidance.