By USA Debt Settlement
Jul 18, 2011
Many Americans don't understand the difference between secured and unsecured debt. In fact, few Americans even know either secured or unsecured debt exists.
* Secured debt - Debt backed or secured by collateral to reduce the risk associated with lending. An example would be a mortgage, your house is considered collateral towards the debt. If you default on repayment, the bank seizes your house, sells it and uses the proceeds to pay back the debt.
* Unsecured debt - A debt that is not tied to any item of property. A creditor doesn't have the right to grab property to satisfy the debt if you default. The creditor's only remedy is to sue you and get a judgment. Credit card debt falls into this category.
Difference
The most straightforward way to understand the difference between unsecured and secured debt to is to work out if your creditor can take away any item or property in the case that you are not able to repay the overdue amount in time. Common examples of unsecured debt, other than credit cards, are medical bills and store cards where you aren't putting up any materials as security for the debt. Car payments and home loans however do have physical items attached.
Bankruptcy …show more content…
In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, you can make the choice of either keeping the product or property and pay off your debt in some other way. When a debt is secured, the creditor has rights in the security (or collateral) in addition to the rights against the debtor. The debtor's personal liability may be discharged in Chapter 7 while lien rights in the collateral pass through bankruptcy unaffected unless they are avoided or stripped down. In Chapter 13 bankruptcy, you are allowed to keep the merchandise or property, but you will be allowed to pay off your debt according to the Chapter 13