 Where
to get a personal loan
|
 Dear
Dr. Don,
I am looking for an unsecured personal loan and my credit is not
that great. There are ads in the newspaper asking for money upfront
to obtain a loan. Do you have a list of banks or finance companies
for a consumer like me, in my situation, that are legitimate? Thanks.
-- Debbie Debtor
 Dear
Debbie,
Financial institutions still offer unsecured
personal loans, even though most consumers meet that need by using credit cards.
Still, a personal loan can have a lower interest rate than a cash advance on your
credit card. You can check personal loan rates in your market using Bankrate's
"Compare Home
Equity Loan Rates" feature.
Just select the "Personal loan" option when you get
to the Web page that asks you to select a loan. Since an earlier
menu option also asks you to input a credit score range, the information
should be a representative lending rate. I tried this feature for
several markets and several credit score ranges, and while personal
loans weren't available in every market or for every credit score
range, it did work well.
Most lenders will want a loan origination fee of some
kind, so asking for money upfront isn't as nonsensical as it first
appears. In one of the markets I reviewed, that fee ranged from
$40.50 to $150. Lenders might offer a quarter-percent discount if
you agree to allow them to automatically debit your bank account
for payment.
If
you belong to a credit union, or are eligible to join a credit union, that is
a good place to start your search for a personal loan. Check out Bankrate's credit union listings
in your market. I'd make a finance company my last choice, but the HSBC Web site
did provide three different subsidiaries that offered personal loans, even to people with
problem credit. |
