Six Tips to Finding the Best Personal Loan

Before you take out a personal loan, you need to study many lenders and scrutinize their requirements regarding interest rates and terms. Apply these six tips and you can land your best personal loan.

Before you take out a personal loan, you need to study many lenders and scrutinize their requirements regarding interest rates and repayment terms. Using these six steps to find a personal loan, you should be able to get through the process without too much time and too much effort. Having the terms available from many lenders will help you negotiate terms with each lender. Also, this research will help you avoid any fraudulent or unscrupulous lenders.

ONE: Watch Those Interest Rates

When you are in the shopping phase of finding a lender, you will want to a keep a close eye on interest rates. This can save you hundreds of dollars, depending on the loan. Be aware that interest rates offered can fluctuate, sometimes daily according to financial markets.

TWO: Watch Your Credit Score

Get copies of your credit reports. Good credit history means low interest rates. Understand your ratings and what they mean. Very low scores can limit your search for lenders. Some traditional lenders will not lend to those with low scores. Non-traditional lenders may offer loans but the interest rates will be higher because of the risk you entail as a borrower.

THREE: Watch for Extra Fees

You need never hand over any fees before a loan is finalized. In lender who demands processing or other upfront fees is operation outside the law. Find another lender. Most any fees should be included in the loan itself. The Federal Trade Commission has an outline of accepted fees. During the execution of the loan, if you discover any untoward fees, you should withdraw and report the lender to the FTC. You can do this over the phone or online.

FOUR: Watch Which Lender

Many lenders exist. They range from your traditional brick and mortar institutions such as banks and credit unions, on to non-traditional storefront or online private lenders. Traditional lenders tend to rely greatly on credit scores and charge relatively low interest. Non-traditional lenders usually only require proof of employment and identification documents. Their interest rates tend to be high.

FIVE: Watch Lender Credentials

A good place to start no matter which type of lender you choose is the Better Business Bureau (BBB). If your prospective lender is not listed in the BBB directories, do not use that lender. In the BBB listings you will find actual ratings of each business as well as customer feedback. Also, online forums exist where you will find borrowers who are all too eager to grumble about any bad experiences they have had with certain lenders.

SIX: Watch to Get the Right Loan for You

You need a loan in the amount you need to meet your financial goals, you need a loan that has repayment terms that are comfortable withing you financial situation, you need to know how soon you can get the loan. you need comfortable interest rates, you need the loan to be free of unwarranted fees. You need to scrutinize all fine print.

Landing the Loan

Make sure you really need the loan. Have you exhausted all other avenues to meet your financial needs? If the answer is yes then, apply the six tips above and you should be able to land the best personal loan for you.