Whether you made a couple of financial mistakes in the past or faced unplanned emergencies that sent your money management topsy-turvy, you might be in a spot now where you need cash and aren’t sure someone will loan it to you. You might be asking, “How can I borrow money with bad credit?”
Or, perhaps you haven’t had a chance yet to make financial faux-pas, and you’re wondering about the easiest loans to get online to help build your credit history in the future. Find out more about bad credit loans and other options below.
What Makes Loan Approval Easy?
When it comes down to it, lenders are looking at their own risk more than anything else. They’re running a business, and in doing so, they can’t go around handing out money they’re not reasonably certain they’ll get back in some way or another.
So, when it comes to loan approval, it’s really a matter of whether you can demonstrate to the lender that you’re less of a risk or whether the lender has created policies that help ensure it won’t sustain a revenue loss in the end.
Good credit, a solid employment and income history or something you can put up for security can all make a lender more likely to approve your loan application. These all help reduce the chance that the lender will lose all that it invests in the transaction. Good credit and a solid income strongly suggest that you’re someone who can and will make the payments. Security on a personal loan, such as jewelry or a car, provides the lender with real property to repossess and sell if you don’t make all your payments.
What Is a Bad Credit Loan?
A bad credit loan is one that’s designed specifically for people with less-than-ideal credit. With this type of loan, the lender knows it’s taking a risk. The borrower (that’s you) knows the lender knows this, too.
Usually, these types of loans have features that are meant to reduce the lender’s risks while also providing the borrower with some benefits. Common features of a bad credit loan include:
- Lower funding options. You’re not usually going to get a bad credit loan for thousands of dollars without security. Many unsecured bad credit loans are for amounts between $100 and $2,000, for example.
- Higher interest rates. Lenders willing to take the risk with bad credit loans online or off need to offset their potential losses, and they often seek to do so by charging more interest on these loans. This helps ensure that the lender gets more money upfront on each payment than it would with lower-interest loans, reducing the losses they’d suffer if a borrower makes only a few payments before defaulting.
- Reporting to the credit bureaus. A lot of lenders report to the credit bureaus, but when you take on a bad credit loan, you want to ensure you’re getting this advantage. By reporting your on-time payments to the bureaus, the lender is helping you rebuild your credit. Of course, you have to make those on-time payments to get this perk.
Some of the Easiest Loans to Get Approved for
What’s the easiest loan to get with no credit or bad credit? It really depends, but here are a few common contenders:
Personal Installment Loans
Personal loans are a common type of funding available to people with poor credit or no credit. Can you get a personal loan with a credit score of 550 or lower? You can if you find the right lender — you just might have to deal with a fairly high-interest rate for the opportunity.
Why would you pay a high-interest rate for such a loan? If you need the money, you may not have a choice. But many people are willing to pay a higher rate for a fast cash loan that helps them deal with an immediate need but also provides them with a chance to start rebuilding their credit.
Here are some tips for getting a personal loan with bad credit:
- Check your credit so you know why it’s bad. Are there errors on your report that are dragging down your score? If that’s the case, you can write a dispute letter to the credit bureau in question and ask it to investigate and correct the issue. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you’re legally entitled to a fair and accurate credit report, and the bureau must look into matters if you point them out. Correcting errors can help bring your score up pretty quickly.
- Shop around for loans that fit your needs. If a scan of your credit report confirms that your low score is because of legitimate past financial mistakes, it may take some time to rebuild your credit. You can start by finding the best possible loan for your needs and then repaying it on time.
- Don’t apply for a lot of loans in a short period of time. That causes multiple hard inquiries on your credit report, which can drag your score down further. It also looks a bit desperate to future lenders, who may be less likely to lend you money because of it.
- Apply for the loan you think you can get. Once you find a loan that matches your needs and you believe you have a good chance of being approved for, apply for that loan.
Loans with Cosigners
One of the easiest ways to get a loan with bad credit (or no credit) is to apply with a cosigner — assuming the cosigner has good credit. For applications of this type, the lender bases their evaluation on the loan risk on the cosigner’s credit history instead of yours, which can mean an easier approval and potentially lower interest rate.
This option does have some downsides, including:
- You need a willing cosigner with a credit history good enough to actually help you
- If you don’t pay the loan as agreed, it can hurt the cosigner’s credit too
- If you become delinquent on the loan, the lender can go after the cosigner for the payments or total amount owed
Car Title Loans
Car title loans put a vehicle up as security for the loan. This is the same thing that happens when you buy a vehicle from the dealership with a loan. The difference with a car title loan is that you already own the car and have the title, but you agree that the lender can take ownership of the vehicle if you fail to make good on the debt.
The upside is that you may be able to get a loan or interest rate you wouldn’t have access to without security. The downside is that your vehicle is at risk if you can’t make the loan payments for any reason.
Get Instantly Approved for a Personal Installment Loan from WiseLoan
Getting a loan with suboptimal credit ideal doesn’t have to be difficult. Apply today to find out instantly if you’re approved for a personal installment loan from WiseLoan. You don’t need great credit, a cosigner or a car title to get a loan from us. And if you’re approved we can fund your loan quickly — in some cases as fast as same day — to ensure you have the emergency funds you need.
Complete our loan application now. It only takes a few minutes.
The recommendations contained in this article are designed for informational purposes only. Essential Lending DBA Wise Loan does not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided in this article; is not responsible for any errors, omissions, or misrepresentations; and is not responsible for the consequences of any decisions or actions taken as a result of the information provided above.
