• Get a pre-approval: A pre-approved loan will let you know the type of home you can afford to buy. It also assures the seller that you are a responsible buyer and genuinely interested in buying the property. The lender will assess your total income, debts and other financial liabilities to evaluate the loan amount you can be pre-approved for. Once the amount is known, you can go about scanning for a suitable home in Killeen that suits your requirements.

• Keep all documents ready: All the important financial documents like bank statements, employment letter, salary proofs, home insurance, tax returns etc. must be kept ready. These may be reviewed by your loan officer to assess your borrowing ability and submit the application.

• Understand loan type: One must decide if he needs a fixed rate mortgage (interest rate stays the same during the entire tenure of the loan) or flexible mortgage rate (interest rate fluctuates according to the market trends). This choice may depend on your current and future financial condition.

• Closing the loan: Once all the paper work is done with the credit union, the next step is to go through the terms and conditions of the loan plan all over again. You may need to submit a copy of the property documents and a few postdated checks to close the deal.

A secured loan is one in which the borrower puts up a personal asset as collateral, based on which the value of the loan is determined. In most cases, the collateral is the same item for which the loan is being borrowed, which in the case of an auto loan is the car. This means that the lender can repossess the vehicle if the borrower fails to make the agreed-upon payments.

In some cases, the lender might also ask for additional security on top of vehicle for which the loan is being taken. This could be in the form of the borrower’s home, boat, or other property, which the lender holds against the loan. The legal document possessed by the lender in case of a secured loan is known as a lien, which the lender releases upon repayment of the loan. In case the borrower fails to repay the loan, the borrower can legally exercise the lien to take possession of the collateral.

The requirements for getting a secured auto loan in Texas are:

• Verifiable income: The primary requirement by most lenders for secured auto loans is a verifiable source of income. This could be in the form of paycheck stubs from several previous pay periods, bank statements showing regular monthly deposits from a certain source, or federal tax returns in case you are self-employed.
• Residency: The lender will usually want to know that you have been occupying your current residence for a sufficient period of time- usually 12 months. If you have recently moved into your present home, you might need to show that you have resided at a single address for a period of at least 12 months in the past ten years.
• Steady employment: The lender wants to ensure that you shall be able to make payments against your loan regularly, which usually comes with steady employment. You should be able to prove that you have been steadily employed for the past 12 months or more. Self-employed individuals or those with alternate sources of income need to prove that they have a steady source of income.

If you fulfill all the above requirements, you should be eligible to get a secured auto loan in Killeen, TX. Be sure to shop around and compare interest rates, penalties, and benefits offered by different lenders, before settling for a secured auto loan.