Thinking about a personal loan for bad credit? Apply for one with Harpsey – get started now!
If you’re interested in a personal loan but have bad credit, Harpsey can help you via our bespoke service. We match the best lenders willing to fund you with an affordable personal loan.
You can make an application for free online to borrow up to $35,000, repaid over 1 to 60 months, with all credit scores eligible. Personal loans are typically funded within 24 hours from application and approval – find out more by clicking to get started.
Bad Credit? What Can You Do to Secure a Personal Loan?
There’s plenty of things you can do to secure a personal loan despite having bad credit.
Having bad credit or a low credit score is no longer an obstacle to being able to obtain a personal loan. Whether you need to to deal with an emergency situation or pay off a series of debts, Harpsey can help to restore security.
Harpsey offers bad credit borrowers the ability to connect directly with lenders offering personal loans at affordable rates. There’s no charge for the service and you can preview all your loan options without impacting your credit score.
How Can I Check If I Have Good or Bad Credit?
One of the most important areas of personal finance is to understand how to check if you have good or bad credit. Many people across the US do not know what their credit score is. More than that, most people don’t know what their score actually means when it comes to being able to apply for and secure a personal loan.
Here are a few quick steps to help empower you on your credit-searching journey.
Step 1. Checking your credit profile.
Knowing your credit score is essential to empower you to make informed financial decisions. Some financial companies have certain criteria when it comes to offering loans to people who are below or above certain credit levels. Knowing how your application will be evaluated by a lender is key and will help manage your expectations.
You can access your credit score by downloading your report through one of the main credit check bureaus such as Experian. The report may contain inaccuracies. You’ll be able to correct any errors which can help to improve your credit profile.
Step 2. Pre-qualify and see what lenders offer you.
Harpsey offers a free service where you can pre-qualify for personal loans with lenders, with no impact to your credit score. Many of our bad credit lenders offer affordable rates for borrowers. It makes a lot of sense to compare them to make sure you’re getting the best overall offer for you, based on your credit score and financial circumstances.
This includes the rate of interest, loan amount, repayment term but also knowing, for instance, if the lender provides fast funding and mobile app functionality.
Step 3. Consider improving your chances of qualification with a co-signed applicant or offering security for the loan.
If you have bad credit, you can boost your chances of successfully applying for a personal loan with a co-signed personal loan. This involves another person, such as your spouse, partner or family member, being added to the application.
That person’s credit and income are evaluated for the purposes of the loan application. That person is on the hook for the loan if the main borrower cannot repay it. Secured loans are also another option as they enable you to put down an item such as a car or savings account as collateral or security for the loan.
The lender can take the security if the loan is not repaid. Both options provide the lender with comfort that they will get their money back if you cannot repay. This improves the chances of securing the loan despite having bad credit.
Step 4. Prepare to apply.
Making sure you have the relevant documents ready to submit with your application will help to streamline and speed up the process for you. Lenders often require pay stubs, W-2s, financial statements and your Social Security number to pass their eligibility checks.
The more organised you are, the quicker your application will be processed and the faster the approval and funding.
What is The Effect of Bad Credit on a Personal Loan Application?
You might think that having bad credit on a personal loan application will prevent you from obtaining a personal loan. However, that’s no longer the case.
Having bad credit is a common occurrence in today’s world. Whilst it may cause you to have to pay a little more for borrowing money, it should not hold you back from being approved for a personal loan.
Generally speaking, lenders will look to increase the interest rate on a loan if you do have bad credit. This is because bad credit suggests to the lender that you have experienced some difficulties in the past with re-paying your debts such as credit cards and loans. This may be harsh but it is the reality of how lenders consider and evaluate their risk of lending.
Some mainstream lenders, such as the banks, may outright refuse to lend to borrowers with bad credit. Other lenders may take a slightly less cautious approach by agreeing to lend a smaller amount based on a borrower’s bad credit. They may also charge a higher annual percentage rate which relates to the interest on the loan.
Harpsey works with lenders who are responsive to borrowers with bad credit. Not only that, but they are willing to lend affordable personal loans to borrowers with bad credit, and poor credit scores. Building up your credit score will help to put yourself in a strong position to secure the right loan amount and a more competitive rate of interest.
We have put together the typical APRs that you can expect based on your credit profile:
Credit score range (FICO) |
Estimate APR |
Description of credit
|
Below 629 |
25.2% |
Bad |
630-689 |
19.3% |
Fair |
690-719 |
15.8% |
Good |
Above 720 |
10.7% |
Excellent |
What Does My Credit Score Mean in Practice?
As you can see from the table above, the higher your credit score, the lower the rate of interest that is typically charged on a loan. That means you will pay less in interest on the loan amount each month to the lender.
Whilst credit scores are an important consideration for lenders, Harpsey works with loan providers who take a more holistic approach. They will consider each borrower’s overall financial picture.
This involves evaluating your employment history and income, your debt to cash ratio and your cashflow. Each lender will weigh these and some other factors differently. It’s important to remember that your credit score is only one of many criteria considered.
This means that despite having bad credit, you can still obtain a personal loan if your overall financial affairs show a healthy outlook.
Where Can I Get a Loan With Bad Credit?
If you’re trying to find the best place to be approved for a loan with bad credit, then Harpsey is here to help.
Harpsey offers a fast and convenient service that enables those with bad credit to access affordable personal loans. Provided they can meet our responsive and flexible lenders’ eligibility criteria, they will be able to receive a personal loan of their choice. We even offer no credit check loans and bad credit loans.
Our service is 100% free and fast. By completing our loan request form, you will automatically pre-qualify and be able to see which lenders are interested in your custom.
Importantly, your credit score is NOT affected as part of this pre-qualification.
What Are The Lending Options for People with Bad Credit?
Credit Unions
They can be one of the most effective ways to borrow money if you have bad credit, provided you are a paid-up member of the credit union.
They typically evaluate your application based on a number of factors, including your period of membership with the credit union. This may bode well if you’ve been a member there for a decent period of time.
Credit unions may also offer a more competitive rate compared to other financial institutions and online lenders. This is because APRs are typically capped at 18% at credit unions, compared to other lenders, who can charge up to 36% depending on the loan product and applicant.
The one thing to bear in mind is the speed of funding. Credit unions can sometimes take a longer period of time to process the loan request application. So if you need funds quickly, it may not be the most effective option for you.
Online Lenders
Applying directly to each specific online lender is also an option to consider. Some of these lenders do lend to bad credit borrowers and may have attractive features such as consumer friendly credit advice. It’s worth trying to compare the rates offered with a number of direct lenders in order to assess the best overall product for you. The downside is that it can be time-consuming and bureaucratic to have to fill out loan request forms with each and every online lender.
That’s where Harpsey can cut out some of the hard work by connecting with you multiple online lenders all in one go.
Key Features Of Personal Loans
| Loan Amounts | $100 to $35,000 |
| Loan Terms | 1 to 60 Months |
| APR | 200% to 400% |
| Same Day Funding | Yes |
| Bad Credit | Yes |
| Direct Lenders | Yes |
| Upfront Fees | No |
Representative Example
This is an example of a typical loan. Real terms with vary from lender to lender.
Borrow $600 over 3 months, at 400% APR, 3 repayments of $345.95, total repayable $1037.85
No-Credit Check Loans – What Do I Need to Know?
Harpsey has some helpful guidance to share with you if you’re thinking about what you need to know when it comes to no-credit check loans.
Harpsey can, in certain situations, support bad-credit borrowers with no credit check loans. However, these products do come with interest rates that are typically much higher than the rate on your average credit-checked loans.
This is because a lender offering a no-credit check loan does not take into account your credit score information. As a result, they are not able to see your credit history in terms of how you’ve managed your previous debts and how you might manage future ones.
Lenders typically price that risk and uncertainty into their evaluation of your application and your loan offer. They will usually charge much higher interest and fees on the loan to cover themselves if something goes wrong. This can lead to much higher monthly payments for bad credit borrowers. If this is not planned for, through careful budgeting, it can quickly become unaffordable.
We would generally not recommend no credit-check loans for this reason. Our lenders generally take a different approach. They assess a loan request application on the basis of multiple factors including employment income, cashflow, debt to income ratio and affordability in conjunction with the simple credit check.
They will look at your overall financial picture before making a decision rather than just assessing your application based on an arbitrary credit check. Even if you have bad credit, if you score well in the other areas mentioned, you’ll still have a good chance of securing a loan with bad credit through Harpsey.
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How Can You Make Sure You Know What to Pay With a Personal Loan?
Knowing when and how much you have to pay is critical when it comes to taking out a personal loan. In addition, having 100% clarity on your regular monthly payments under a personal loan is critical to effectively managing your financial affairs and budgeting properly.
As part of pre-qualification, Harpsey connects borrowers to reputable and regulated online lenders. They set out the key information in a simple and easy-to-understand format for borrowers to review.
This will include the amount of the loan, the rate of interest, the amount each month that needs to be repaid, the repayment period and any penalty fees if you miss a payment. Harpsey’s lenders let you preview the loan payment information without any obligation to proceed with the loan.
This enables borrowers to assess whether the loan is attractive and worth it for them.
Missing payments can seriously damage your credit score. Understanding how much you would need to pay in total interest each month is really important to managing your financial affairs and ensuring you can improve your credit score.
If you want to put in approximate figures to preview expected loan payments, then there are some excellent personal loan calculators out there to run the figures and get an estimate. We would caution relying solely on these calculators though as they are not always 100% accurate.
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Personal Loans for Bad Credit | FAQs
- What’s the Easiest Loan to Get With Bad Credit?
- How Can You Be Disqualified From Getting a Bad Credit Loan?
- Can I Get a Bad Credit Loan Anywhere in US?
- How Much Does A Bad Credit Loan Cost?
- How Long Can I Take to Repay My Bad Credit Loan
A secured loan is often the most effective loan option for those with bad credit. This involves putting up collateral such as a car or savings account (or other item of value) which the lender has recourse to and can take if you fail to repay.
It’s also worth considering co-signed and joint loans which also are useful options for bad credit borrowers. They work by requiring you to add another person to your application.
If that person has good income and credit, then you will be more likely to be successful in your application. But do remember, the co-applicant is jointly responsible for the missed payments.
Unfortunately, some lenders have specific criteria which if you cannot meet, you will not be able to obtain a personal loan. This might be a specific level of income (you need to earn income of at least $800 per month with Harpsey), too much outstanding debt or a very bad or short credit history.
This is often the case with traditional lenders such as banks and other financial institutions. Harpsey’s lenders, however, apply a more flexible approach to assessing an applicant’s suitability for a personal loan and will judge them on their overall merits.
Harpsey works across the whole of the USA. We provide a service which allows borrowers to have access to the best range of lenders for their individual situation who are willing to lend personal loans at competitive rates.
We operate across many states in the US and our lenders offer all types of loan products including cash advances, installment loans and short term loans.
With a wide variety of lenders, we can cater for all different types of credit profiles.
As long as you have a stable income and are able to repay your loan on time each month, you should be able to obtain the funds you need.
We currently cover the following US States: Alabama, Colorado, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.
At Harpsey, we aim to find you fair loans with the best rates available. However, every lender and loan offer will be different so it is hard to quote an exact number. Bad credit loans can have quite high interest rates so may end up costing the borrower a lot of money. It is always important to read the terms and conditions of each loan to know exactly how much you will need to repay.
The timeline that you have to repay the loan will depend on the terms that are offered to you by the lender. Timescale can vary from a month to a few years. It will also depend on which state you are in, as most states have regulations and restrictions on the length of certain types of loans.