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Let us ignore the fact that most creditors require a contact address. If you actually happen to own your home then clearly you are unlikely to up sticks and leave with your creditor trying to work out where you, and more importantly to them: their money, have gone to. This alone tends to give you the edge when it comes to getting the best deal on loans. Not only does it mean to the creditor that you are easy to contact, it also shows that you are far more likely to be a responsible borrower of money. Bearing in mind that most homeowners either have or did have a mortgage at some stage, they will likely have had to make monthly (or otherwise) repayments in the past, so it gives the creditor a sense of comfort that, based on past results, you're more likely to be a trustworthy borrower.

So, if you're not actually a homeowner then what sort of difference will it make to you? Given that you're living somewhere relatively permanent, but don't actually own the property yourself, you may find that you lack much to secure your loan on. What's the problem with this? If you do not actually happen to own a property then generally the amount you're personally worth would be less. This means that, should you end up - despite your best efforts and intentions - getting further and further in to debt so that you're unable to pay back the loan, you have little to act as a buffer (like your property) with which the creditor can start looking at. If you don't own a home then you're effectively a higher risk to the creditor. So how do they make up for that?

Quite simply, they up the level of interest that you have to pay per month and offer far less understanding should things start going wrong. So, inversely, if you actually happen to be in the position of owning a home, you are a far more stable and likely candidate for the creditor's best loan deals.

What about if your partner owns the home? In that case, it can sway the balance just enough if your credit record isn't without its patchy areas. If that's the case, you have two simple options to taking out a loan to make the most of that fact. Ensure that the creditor is aware of whom you happen to live with (and that they own the home, not you); or simply ask them to take out the loan for you. Even if the creditor would normally still agree to give you a loan you might find that your partner can negotiate a better rate.

In the long run, it's all down to who's willing to sign on the line and what they have available to back up their loan with (combined with their credit history). Bear that in mind when trying to find quotes for relatively small loans in future. You could trim a little off of the total amount you end up paying, and what sort of deal you get.