Government loans are monies borrowed from the United States Federal Government and individual state governments (or possibly city and local governments in some instances). The federal government offers a wide variety of loans to both individuals and businesses for a variety of reasons. Citizens may take out federal loans for needs such as disaster relief, housing, business, agriculture, education and more.http://www.govloans.gov/govloans_en.portal

Often, interest rates on loans from the government are lower than rates from private sources, and thus the borrower can save money. This is true of home loans from the Federal Housing Administration (also called the FHA), as well as with student loans.http://www.hud.gov/fha/choosefha.cfmhttp://www.studentloannetwork.com/student-loan-articles/federal-student-loans-vs-private-student-loans.php

The federal government maintains a website that is devoted to helping people find out about available loans. The site is at www.govloans.gov, and users can browse through loan opportunities by type.http://www.govloans.gov/govloans_en.portal

Often, students who will be attending college or graduate school turn to the government for loans to help cover some or all of the costs of their education. Some of these types of loans include:

• Stafford Loans: These loans come with a low, fixed interest rate. Credit is not taken into consideration when applying for this type of loan.http://www.staffordloan.com/stafford-loan-info/
• Perkins Loan: This type of loan has a 5 percent fixed interest rate and is available based on financial need.http://www.studentloannetwork.com/federal-student-loans/perkins.php
• Parent PLUS Loan: These loans are issued to the parents of students, and credit is a factor in the application process. Paid interest may be tax deductible.http://www.parentplusloan.com/
• Graduate PLUS Loan: These loans are for graduate students, and the interest rate is fixed at 7.9 percent.http://www.gradloans.com/graduate-plus-loan/

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Please contact your financial adviser before using the information presented here.