What if I have
Bad Credit?

You have checked your credit report and you have discovered it is in pretty poor shape. You missed some payments and the latest medical bills ended up in collections. Your chances of your bank lending you a personal loan is pretty thin. What can you do? Do you qualify at all for a personal loan?

Home Owners

You still may qualify for a secured loan if you have real property that you can put up as collateral. If you have equity in a home or business the lender may take that into consideration. You will need to decide if it is worth the risk of losing your home if you fail to meet the payments.

Bad Credit Loans

There are lenders who will still lend to you if you have bad credit. You may have to do some shopping around and comparing. But be careful submitting applications all over town. Each time an application is submitted it affects your credit score. It would be better if you get a copy of your credit reports from all three credit bureaus and be upfront with the problems. That way you have an idea, before submitting a formal application, of whether or not they are going to work with you.

Consequences

All actions have consequences and having a bad credit score does as well. If you do get a personal loan the interest is going to much higher. You are a risk and the lender wants to make sure he recoups as much of his money as possible.

Many places online offer loans to those with bad credit. But just like payday loans the borrower needs to beware. The high interest rates and/or fees can eat you alive. So make sure it is money you really need. to borrow before you go this route.

Also, check on the reputation of the company and read all the fine print. Know what you are signing and know with who you are entering into a legally binding contract.