Bad Credit Lenders – How to Bag a Bad Credit Personal Loan in 5 Steps

If you are like most people, when you think of bad credit lenders, the image that comes to mind is a loan shark-type character. You may think of shady backroom deals, hushed voices, and a big guy in the back who carries a club meant for those who fail to repay their loans on time.

While such underworld-type loan services no doubt still exist, the vast majority of bad credit personal lending companies these days are completely legitimate. They have honest dealings with their customers, they pay their federal taxes accurately and on time, and they stick by their word. In short, they are stand-up businesspeople just trying to make a living like everybody else.

Fortunately, these days finding a bad credit personal lender does not involve meeting someone at the dark table in the back of the pool hall and being forced to pay 300% interest on a loan. Instead, you can find a number of upstanding personal loan lending companies in most mid-size towns and large cities alike. You can also find them online.

In fact, there are so many personal loan lenders out there today that your biggest challenge will not be in finding an honest one, but rather in finding the one that will give you the best deal.

Bad credit lenders specialize in working with folks who may not have a perfect credit history. This poor credit history is usually reflected in the borrower’s low credit, or FICO, score. However, these special personal loan lenders know how to work with people who have a low FICO score. They do this by reviewing other key details of that person’s credit history, then making a decision based on items other than just the score.

If you need a loan but are concerned about getting approved given your credit score, here is how to bag your own bad credit personal loan in 5 steps:

1. Figure out who the players are. After 20 minutes of Internet research or a quick drive around town, you should easily be able to build yourself a list of personal loan lenders who are ready to wheel and deal with you. Skip over any lenders who seem shady or who do not have an established business history.

2. Become familiar with your own credit history. This means having a look at your own credit reports. Prepare yourself for the kinds of questions you may be asked – and have some answers ready. For example, you may be asked about why you didn’t complete payments on that auto loan, or why you missed 3 months of your utility bill. Have honest, but well-thought-out, answers ready.

3. Play the lenders against each other. Once you are ready to take out a loan for $ 500, $ 1,000 or more, start applying to at least 4-5 bad credit personal lenders. Each lender is going to offer you a slightly different interest rate. You may find that one lender could save you hundreds of dollars in lower interest payments. If you get two similar loan offers, tell the one with the higher rate that you have a better offer in hand, and see if they’ll beat it.

4. Experiment with different loan amounts. For example, let’s say you apply for a loan of $ 2,000 but your application gets rejected or you don’t get approved for the interest rate you wanted. In that case, go back and ask for $ 1,500. See what works.

5. Finally, read the terms and conditions of every loan offer that comes across your desk. For example, you may not want to agree to any offers that require you to pay an early termination fee or other hidden fees. Ask the lender for a statement showing the total cost of the would-be loan, including all fees and interest.

Take these 5 steps to bag your bad credit personal loan faster than you had thought possible.