The Facts on Unsecured Personal Loans

Apr 18
07:49

2012

Amanda Hash

Amanda Hash

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Traditional lenders require some pretty stringent guidelines for unsecured personal, or signature loans. Do the research and alternatives are available.

mediaimage
Signature loans are also referred to as low-interest personal loans. These financial instruments are not the easiest to come by. Basically this is true because no collateral is offered and that is why they are referred to as unsecured loans. One literally gets an unsecured personal loan on their signature alone. It is easy to see why lenders offering such loans have pretty stringent guidelines.What Do Lenders Worry?With home equity loans,The Facts on Unsecured Personal Loans Articles as with car loans, there is property available to the lender should the borrower default in repayment. They can take possession of the car or the real estate. With a signature loan, the only avenue open should default occur is the filing of a lawsuit. Certainly, a lender may well win possession of personal property or wage garnishment as a result of the suit, but this is not always a cut and dried matter. In most jurisdictions, wage garnishment is an option available only for child support cases. Also, lawsuits are expensive and time consuming, so a potential lender needs a lot of assurance that the borrower will pay in full with a reasonable interest rate, too.What Are the Underwriting Guidelines?So, with no wage garnishment assured, the lender is in a financially vulnerable situation when it comes to signature loans. The lenders therefore only expose themselves to this vulnerability by assuring that receivers of these financial instruments have a good level of financial stability, an excellent credit report, as well as an existing debt level that is manageable even after the signature loan is added. Of course, the particulars of these guidelines vary from lender to lender. And the amount traditional lenders are willing to offer for these types of loans can be as small as $5,000. Sometimes, a pre-existing personal relationship between the borrower and the lender may facilitate the availability of these loans. But still, financial assets, career longevity, good credit, and low debt/income ratio are still very much required.What Does a Poor Credit Borrower Do?Securing a loan such as those mentioned above is a pretty bleak prospect for folks with poor credit. Finance companies exist that specialize in loans for these folks and they require no credit check; so a credit history is of little consequence to the borrower or the lender. Of course, with these companies arguing about risk, interest rates will be a good 10 percent higher than market rates.In certain cases, some poor credit borrowers my qualify for a loan up to $20,000. Terms asking a one to two year repayment rate can be found. Be sure to research the market extensively, looking for terms and interest that are affordable. Another option would be cash advance or pay day loans. They require no credit check. Here again, these loans are high risk and exhibit the high interest rates typical of high risk loans. These are usually sought by folks who have immediate cash-flow issues.Do Not Give Up!While unsecured loans offering large loans are hard to come by. Researching the market, being cautious will eventually lead you to find a loan package that meets your needs.