Borrowing When You Have A Bad Credit Score

If you have bad credit you can still find a loan. Many lenders offer up to $15,000 on their Web sites, for secured no, and even for loans under $1000 for which they don't actually run a credit check. While you're probably going to want to avoid the latter if you can (more than likely payday loans or will take your car title as collateral and charge exorbitant interest rates) the options are many for a bad credit loan.

You can also find a bad credit mortgage loan as well, even though you'll undoubtedly end up paying a higher rate of interest. This might even save you some money, if you're refinancing your home to secure a lower interest rate than you already have, or if you are using it for debt consolidation and the rate offered is lower than the credit cards you're now trying to get out from under.

What you'll typically need to apply for a bad credit loan isn't all that different than any other situation. You have to prove your income, your expenses, your assets, your liabilities, and indicate what you are going to be using the money for and why the amount is accurate that you're requesting. Don't be frivolous or vague about the use of the money borrowed, and don't ask for more than you can clearly show you need. A lender who is considering your bad credit loan and sees you still being foolish with your money may well turn you down, and rightly so.

While in years and decades past, the loan officer's decision involved a lot of lengthy paperwork and manual calculations and verification, it is so computerized now that your bad credit loan decision could be almost instantaneous, even if you are applying at the lending institution in person.

The first place the loan officer is going to go is to one of the major credit reporting bureaus for your credit score. Don't panic. Be upfront - you have bad credit. There are lenders who specialize in a bad credit loan and they won't be shocked and you needn't be embarrassed. Honest is what's called for if you want that bad credit loan. What the lender looks at is if you paid your utilities on time, if you have had instances of having to be sent to collection agencies and if they were resolved, if you've had a home foreclosed on or a car repossessed and if there are charge-offs on your record. Bankruptcy is another important issue, and be sure you disclose this to the potential lender.

If the loan officer determines that the amount of the bad credit loan, based on what your income is as compared with your expenses, is more than you're going to be able to pay back, that doesn't mean you won't get the loan. She or he may suggest borrowing a lesser amount, or even extending the term of the loan so that you'll be paying longer but less each month. Keep in mind, however, that the longer the term of a bad credit loan, with its higher interest rate, the more costly it becomes in the long run.