Money borrowed and given for individual use is referred to as a personal loan. Many people the world over rely on private borrowing to rescue them when under extreme financial pressure. Advances of this nature can pay for your sofa upholstery renovation or pay off that depressing plastic money debt that is accruing interest charges by the second.
Personalized advances are unattached debt. You do not sign over your home or car to acquire them. A simple signature and a soft credit check are what it takes to resuscitate your finances.
Personalized advances were once the reserve of brick and mortar institutions, but today you can get a quick one from your online lender. There are tons of lending sites online today making credit easy to get. The arena though has become harder to regulate, with some lenders laying financial traps for borrowers already in economic duress.
Personal loans: The facts
- They are an unattached credit source
- You can use them flexibly where you require them the most without restrictions from the creditor
- The roof for these advances can hit up to $25,000
- They have enough breathing space and payable for periods of one to five years
- The APRs of these advances can go as low as 6.99%
- Personal credit can be sourced from your credit union, bank or from online lenders
These life-saving sources of credit have higher interest than your usual secured borrowing, but their rates are much friendlier than those of payday credit. It is actually possible to get better interest values with them than you will get with some bank cards. This is why personal creditors have carved out a niche for themselves as the perfect to go to funding for debt consolidation.
Any kind of additional debt should be avoided at all costs. If, however, you have to get yourself a personal advance, there are traps you should avoid that could potentially place you in dire financial straits.
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Factors that determine the level of interest charged on your personalized loan
Your credit ratings
Since personal credit has no attachment, it places its moneylender at risk. Lenders will, therefore, consider the health of your credit score to determine your legibility for the borrowing and subsequent interest.
A high credit score will imply favorable interest rates. Lenders equate excellent credit ratings with the ability to make debt repayments on time. Some lenders accept scores of 525, but others want them as high as 710. A FICO score of 670 to739 is regarded as a good score and should have reasonable interest charges tied to it.
Debt to income ratio
All lenders will first of all pore through your debts and compare them to your income before issuing you with a loan. Lenders do not want your debt to expend more than 43% of your earnings because if it does, you might not have enough cash at hand left to pay them back.
Traps to avoid when applying for personal loans
Origination fee
Moneylenders love to slap their clients with origination fees during loan applications. You will be pleased to know however that some moneylenders do not levy these costs. So, if you need an easy, personalized realistic loans to renovate your kitchen affordably shop for a moneylender who does not levy origination fees. You will want to avoid any extra costs because taking on loans is costly. If your preferred lender levies origination fees on personal loaning, make sure that their value is reasonable since the charge differs amongst lenders. Most lenders charge between 2 to 5% of your principal amount as origination fees.
How to avoid high origination fees
Pore through online forums and seek the lender who has the lowest charges to reduce the impact these costs will have on your financial well being.
Prepayment fees
If the financial gods smile on you and you are able to pay off your personal loan early, your lender might charge you a prepayment penalty. So just imagine how torn you will be to see your good financial deed and discipline rewarded with a hefty charge!
While prepayments were familiar with early loan payments in the past, today they are becoming an exception to the rule.
How to avoid prepayment charges
Before taking out personal loan take your time to ask the lender the right questions. Inquire if they charge prepayment penalties. If they do, seek another lender who will not trap you with such charges.
Insurance costs
Some of these loaning institutions love to leverage on the fear you might be facing from the stress your financial difficulties have whipped. They will send some of the best agents to make you a moving insurance pitch as the loan request closes. They will, for example, try to sell you an unemployment or life insurance. They will employ high-pressure tactics and pick on every financial fear you might have starting from an ailing spouse and children to loss of life. The add on policies proposed to your personal loan is usually very poor and not worth the extra payments you will need to toss at them.
How to avoid add on insurance costs
If you really need an insurance agreement, that covers not only the loan but other needs as well, find a good insurance option separate from your loan agreement. If your loan provider forces the insurance cover on your investment, choose to look for an honest agent who will not bully you into this trap.
Precomputed interest charges
There are shark-like loan lenders that will try to take advantage of your ignorance. These loan sharks will, first of all, calculate the interest owed to them for the loan then will add it to your individual loan cost. This is all okay. The problem arises when they then add a sneaky precomputed interest of their own making.
This interest will corner you so that if perchance you want to cash out early, you will end up coughing up all the interest initially laid down, just as if you were completing the loan’s term.
Precomputed interest is a trap that forces you to pay ridiculously high values at the onset of your loan. Watch out and ensure that your loan’s interest comes through a simplified interest process before the credit is given the nod and disbursed.
How to avoid the precomputed charge traps
Dig up info before applying for your personalized advance. Ask your lender what method they use to calculate your interest charges and have all your rates at your fingertips.
Very high-interest rates
Three factors will determine the level of interest levied on your loan; your credit score, your income versus debt ratio and your lender. High-interest values will translate to higher repayment amounts which essentially takes money from you when you need it the most.
If for example, a lender charges you an interest charge of 35.99% because you have a poor credit rating, that loan may not be worth your time, because it is ultra expensive. It is entirely possible that you will get a cheaper source of financing from a plastic cash borrowing.
How to avoid high-interest
Study the Federal Reserve banks rates and regulations and keep your eyes peeled for a lender with affordable interest.
The final word
Personal loans are perfect for those rainy financial days. They should be used skillfully and acquired with care to avoid traps that will hemorrhage your cash. Use them carefully when money is required in a pinch but avoid breaking the bank by avoiding the pitfalls and possible scams mentioned above.