Compare Personal Loan Rates

What You Should Know About Personal Loans

Most of us, at some time or another, will need a personal loan. Specific reasons will differ from medical emergencies, home renovations to business start-ups, or a new car. There is no one size fits all when it comes to financing.

Often people will get a personal loan through either a credit union or a bank instead of a private lender such as a car dealership because they offer a better rate. Online lenders have come to the party. They are now extremely competitive with their fee schedules and offerings, giving conventional banks and credit unions a run for their money, so to speak.

Another common use of personal loans is reconsolidating credit card debt. You can merge your high-interest personal loans and credit card debt into a lower-rate, longer-term personal loan. This will allow you to pay less interest and fees to help you pay down your principal debt faster.

In some cases, people can take out a personal loan to get themselves through a financially draining month. This generally not advised and should be considered a last resort. A very small personal loan may be considered to cover your monthly bills, such as rent and utility payments, to prevent defaults.

Whatever the reason for the loan, most people consider making the decision to take out a personal loan significant. It’s significant because, for some people, the process is foreign, new to them, and sometimes hard to understand.

People don’t know who to trust or what to look for when trying to find the right loan. The last thing they want to do is find themselves in a situation where they inflict more harm on their personal finances than helping their situation.

Fortunately, the good news is that we at Financer.com have taken the time to connect you with some of the most trusted lenders in the market. Lenders with a long history of successful lending at fair rates, reliable customer service, and vetted to be tested over the years. Hence, the last thing you have to worry about is, “are my lenders transparent with me?”

If you’re new to the world of lending, give this article a read to help understand the fine details anyone would want to know before making this commitment. If you are familiar with the idea of how personal loans work, feel free to use our loan comparison tool to explore our highly reputable lenders.

Tip: Read more about other loan types.

What Is a Personal Loan?

Before we dive into exploring the advantages of personal loans and how to apply for a personal loan online. It’s first important to ensure you have a good understanding of what exactly a personal loan is and what it can mean to you.

Personal Loans Are Unsecured

You don’t need to own a home, or offer up other forms of collateral (like your car title) in order to get a loan. You will still need to qualify for the loan based on your income and credit profile though. Since these loans aren’t tied to your personal property, in the unlikely event that you can’t repay the loan and go into default, you don’t run the risk of foreclosure or repossession.

What is Collateral?

Collateral is defined as something you own that can be collected upon should you find yourself unable to meet the payment agreements you initially agreed to.

For example, if your car was used as collateral for a loan and you did not pay your loan, the lender could repossess your vehicle and sell it to pay back the money you owe them.

So in this context, understand that a personal loan is not a home loan or a typical auto loan. These loans have their own benefits for these specific situations. They can often be more beneficial than a traditional loan for their purpose.

Now that we have established what a traditional personal loan is not, it’s probably appropriate to share it. Personal loans are typically loans that are not secured. Meaning that there is no collateral for someone to collect upon should you fail to meet payments. Your loan terms are based on factors like trustworthiness, your credit history, and your debt to income ratio.

Long-lasting outstanding delinquency will likely get reported to the credit bureaus and sent into collections. You can be sued for the money you owe or face much steeper consequences than just owing a lender on what you owe, such as prison time.

As a responsible borrower, you’re likely never to find yourself in such a catastrophic situation where you will be facing aggressive collectors. Personal loans are typically designed and agreed upon in a way that makes them highly manageable for borrowers to repay.

Personal loans typically involve a fixed interest rate, with a term that can vary based on the loan amount. However, some personal loans can be spaced out for as long as 84 months (7 years) or more. Long term loans make monthly payments more affordable, which is more manageable for many. 

What Are Personal Loans Used For?

The real beauty of personal loans is they can be used for virtually anything- it’s your money! If you’re approved for the money, you can do basically anything you like with it. It’s your choice to invest it, use it to consolidate debt, pay your utilities, or car repairs.

Personal loans should be used for good debt rather than for bad debt. It’s important to only borrow what you need so you don’t get caught in a debt cycle that you cannot get out of. 

Generally speaking, before you go to apply for a loan, you know what you want to use the loan for. Whether you need a student loan, an auto loan, a business loan, or a loan to buy a home with, you’re incredibly likely to want to get the appropriate loan for that specific purchase.

Getting the right loan is vital to ensure you the best rates and terms while saving your wallet burdens you wouldn’t otherwise have to endure.

Our recommendation for personal loans is these loans generally are a perfect fit for you if you are

If you meet those conditions, you might well be one step closer to qualifying for a personal loan.

How to Qualify for a Personal Loan

Great, you’ve made the decision to apply for a personal loan! But now you need to know just whether or not you can actually qualify.

There really isn’t a specific and precise qualification guideline among all personal lenders. Still, there are a lot of factors that lenders generally have in common. However, you can rest assured that the lenders we at Financer.com provide are of the utmost integrity and quality you could possibly want when searching for an online loan.

That said, because you are applying for a personal loan unsecured, you will likely be judged heavily upon your credit score. Your credit score, in a nutshell, is the history you have between managing and borrowing money. You can learn everything you need to know about your credit score by reading our article about it if you’re interested in learning more.

You’re also less likely to be judged harshly for having a sub-optimal credit score if you borrow smaller amounts under $10,000.

Mistakes can happen from time to time. If you only have a couple of marks here and there, like a late payment, a collection you paid off years ago, you’re likely to still get the approval you’re searching for.

The Advantages of Online Personal Loans

Applying for personal loans online can provide you with several benefits.

You may also find that personal loans online offer greater convenience than other types of loans. When you become unexpectedly stressed financially, some people, unfortunately, maybe much more pressed on time than others. Some people need funding fast because these situations do occur from time.

When you find yourself needing a fast decision on approval times for loans, an online lender often time can give you a decision instantly depending on the loan amount. Online lending is becoming very popular with consumers as many lenders offer same-day approvals one to seven-day payouts.

When you compare the online lenders to that of banks and credit unions where you have to apply during business hours, and it can take up to two weeks to finalize your application. You can see why the online industry is booming.

The convenience of being able to apply online gives you the power right at your fingertips. With all the time in the world, you personally need to understand, compare, and read your agreements and terms.

5 Things You Should Know About Personal Loans

1. Loan amounts can range from $1,000 to $50,000

Whether you need to borrow a little for an unforeseen expense like a car repair or vet bill, or a lot to consolidate all of your other debts, personal loans offer you flexibility. These loans aren’t open-ended though, so you’ll need to borrow the entire amount you need in a single transaction.

2. Shorter repayment periods get you out of debt sooner

With fully-amortized* repayment periods of 1 to 5 years or so, you’ll be able to pinpoint exactly when you’ll be out of debt. If you’re struggling with paying off credit card balances only to charge them back up again, having a close-ended account like a personal loan can help you to finally get free of your debts.

*This means your balance is paid down in equal installments over time until it’s paid off.

3. Personal loans aren’t revolving debt

Rather, personal loans are considered an installment debt. When reporting on your credit, they won’t show up the same way a maxed out credit card would. They also contribute to your account type mix, showing creditors that you can responsibly manage different types of debt. In fact, having an installment loan is a great way to build or re-build your credit because the monthly payments and interest rates are fixed and therefore lower risk.

4. One-time expenses won’t derail your finances

For large, one-time expenses like paying for a wedding, or remodeling your kitchen you can finance the costs upfront with a personal loan, rather than wait until you can save up and pay for them in full. The finance charges you incur should factor into your decision, but they could be worth it under the right circumstances.

5. Interest rates on personal loans are very competitive

In fact, compared with credit cards, personal loan interest rates are often quite a bit lower. The underwriting process is simpler than mortgages and home equity loans and lines of credit as well, so you can be approved in a matter of days. To compare personal loan offers and read company reviews from actual clients check out our personal loan comparison tool.

Why Choose a Personal Loan?

As of 2019, the Federal Reserve has cut the interest rates to some of the lowest loans have ever been in the United States. Because of this, lenders alike have followed suit to stay competitive. Candidly, this is actually among the best times to ever take out a loan in American history.

Furthermore, the economic recession experienced in 2008 still has left aftermath within the marketplace. Because of the recession, stringent but highly needed restrictions have been created to ensure that the loans you are approved for are well calculated.

Meaning that bank loans are harder to get approved for than they once were. Many people are finding it easier to get approval for a loan through online lenders. They get to forgo the scrutiny of the bank’s new and current underwriting process.

Lastly, online personal loans are also fantastic because there are just so many options to compare nowadays!

What’s it Like to Take a Personal Loan From an Online Lender?

Getting a loan online has now actually become commonplace. The financial market is changing, and soon online will be the most popular way to get the cash you need.

The truth is the “infancy” period of online lending is over. This problem has been well handled and solved now for years, something we at Financer are proud to say because that means you might think of us when you look for a personal loan!

Online lending has you covered whether you’re looking to reconcile debt, buy a vehicle, purchase equipment for your business, or take out a loan for a wedding and honeymoon. Our free loan comparison tool can help you get started!

Online lenders typically will get enough information from you once approved to help you set up automatic payments from your bank account. Just set it and forget it, and your payments will automatically be sent to your lender.

With most lenders, there typically isn’t a penalty early loan repayment, which would also technically save you interest fees associated with your term length.

Because your loan is at a fixed rate with a predictable term rate, you typically will find that your loan is much easier to manage than credit card debt.

How Do Personal Loans Compare to Other Loans?

The name is basically self-explanatory. Personal loans, when approved, can be used for virtually anything you feel is essential. They aren’t always the best option, but they are a very good one.

Online loans for bad credit are even an option. A lot of traditional lenders or financial institutes may flat out deny you on an unsecured loan should you have a history of bad credit. Some online lenders might be more forgiving to your financial situation, but be sure to fully understand what you’ve agreed to before the deal is done.

In cases like using a personal loan to pay off student debt, it can be a good idea, but in most cases, it is not.

The same can be said about auto loans. You really would want to find some kind of long term relationship-based bank or credit union to take a personal loan at a rate under 6%. In most cases, an auto loan can be the most appropriate since most are in the 3-10% ballpark.

This isn’t to discourage you from taking a personal loan since they really are such a perfect fit for consolidating debt or just making larger general purchases, it’s just to inform you of the types of loans available outside of this.

Personal Loans With No Credit Check

Another frequently searched answer by consumers is, “can I still get a personal loan with no credit check?”

The answer is honestly a complicated no. (But keep reading)

You might see lenders online that offer loans without a credit check, and this is true- there are lenders online that won’t do what is called a “hard pull” of your credit score. A hard pull is when the credit bureaus receive a request for your credit history from a potential lender. People generally want to avoid credit checks because a hard credit check will reduce their credit score. Other reasons are that they already have bad credit or they owe a lot of money already. 

So if there are lenders that are offering loans without credit checks, does that mean they are false advertising? The answer is no!

In the fine print, you’ll see that they are being compliant with their fiduciary responsibilities between you and them. What they go onto explain is by them saying “no credit check”, what they mean is they won’t do a hard pull of your credit score. Which is good news for people who want to see if they can get funding but feel like they have a high chance of getting denied.

Because even if you are denied, you don’t suffer a 2-3 point decrease in your credit score just for trying.

Important: if your intention of finding a personal loan with no credit checks is because you’re trying to find a lender who won’t dig into your history, you are out of luck. 

Lenders will do a soft pull of your credit score and base their ability to lend to you on whatever shows up. A soft pull is a check that isn’t reported to credit bureaus.

So while there are lenders on the market that will advertise “no credit checks on your personal loan”, this doesn’t mean “no checks whatsoever.”

If you’re looking for a legitimate and transparent personal loan, we recommend looking at what we have to offer here at Financer.com by checking out our loan comparison tool!

Tips for Applying for Personal Loans

Before applying for a personal loan, it’s a good idea to make sure you have gathered all of the necessary information you may need for your loan application. Such information may include:

Having this information readily available may help to speed up the application process and assist in having your application for a personal loan approved more quickly.

Why Financer.com?

We hope to be your financial friend! And when you are fully prepared to take action and make some financial decisions, we hope you think of us too!

Financer.com is on a focused mission to help connect fellow Americans with options they deserve to get transparent and affordable terms on their loans.

Candidly we look for lenders that have not only the full transparency you should expect, but also have a long track record of successful lending, and satisfied customers. We are always growing, pruning, and developing our list, but are confident in what we can bring to market, and we know you will be as well.

You can use our free loan comparison tool above to see what we can possibly do for you today, and take the guesswork and comparison out of doing all the legwork by yourself!