A Loan Agreement, also known as a term loan, demand loan, or a loan contract, is a contract that documents a financial agreement between two parties, where one is the lender and the other is the borrower.
This contract specifies the amount of the loan, any interest charges, the repayment plan, and payment dates. A written contract gives both the borrower and lender a clear outline of the terms of the loan.
A Loan Agreement may be either secured or unsecured.
Secured: A secured loan is one that is issued and supported with collateral to be used in the event that the borrower can no longer make payments. Collateral is usually a physical asset that can be seized and/or sold off by the lender to pay the remaining balance of the loan. Collateral can be a car, a house, stocks, or bonds.
If there isn't a collateral clause in the contract, the lender would have to go to court to seize any of the borrower's assets. With a clause in place, the lender may still have to go to court to seize on the collateral, but the process tends to run smoother.
Unsecured: An unsecured loan is one that is issued without collateral. These kinds of loans tend to be more common when loaning money to friends or family members. An unsecured loan may have higher interest rates to offset the risks to the lender for loaning money without collateral.