Best Personal Loans 2020 [Bad Credit Ok]

One thing is for sure, you’ll want to make sure that you get the best possible personal loans available. You don’t want to waste time getting an inferior loan that has limited features and ends up costing you more money. For this reason, you need to know what to look for when it comes to the best personal loans.

We’ve created this guide to help our readers find the best personal loans on the market. It might sound complicated, but finding the right personal loan isn’t as hard as it sounds. You just need to know what to look for when you begin your search. If you’ve ever wondered what’s included in the top personal loans on the market, continue to read the rest of this guide.

Your Preferences

The best personal loans for you will depend on your preferences. You will need to assess which type of lending process you’re attempting to go through before you make a decision on the type of loan that you’re looking for. You don’t want to assume that the best personal loan for someone else is also the best one for you.

Personal financial circumstances and a range of other components will dictate which loan is most suited to you and your situation. The first thing that you should assess is whether or not you want a secure or unsecured personal loan. We will explore these two options in further detail below.

Secured

Secured loans are the riskiest form of loan for the borrower. They require you to secure the loan against the value of an asset that you possess – most likely your home or your car. This type of loan will result in your asset being seized if you end up defaulting on your payments. For this reason, it’s extremely important that if you get a secured loan that you know you will be able to make your payments on time. You don’t want to give your lender any reason to liquidate any of your assets.

But this doesn’t come without its benefits. You also get to have a much lower interest rate than with an unsecured loan. Lenders will make you pay less if they know that they have a way of getting their money back if you end up defaulting on the loan. They’re also easier to get for people who have poor credit histories. Lenders will be more likely to provide someone with short term loans for poor credit if they have something to secure the loan against.

Unsecured

Unsecured loans tend to be the most popular form of personal loan. They don’t require you to secure the loan against any form of asset. This is great for people who don’t want to risk putting their personal assets at risk of collection from lenders. But this will also come at a much higher interest rate, as the lender is taking on a bigger risk themselves. You will also need to have a fairly decent credit score for many lenders even though unsecured loans for fair credit do exist. People don’t want to risk lending money to someone who has a bad history of making payments on time.

Features of Best Personal Loans

Once you’ve decided on the type of loan that you want, it’s time to look for a variety of features that you might be interested in. Have a look at the different features that we discuss below and try to determine which ones are best suited to you. Focus on the features that are most important to your personal lending experience!

Low-Interest

The best personal loans will have low interest rates. You don’t want to be paying high interest rates on a personal loan, it defeats the entire purpose. Nonetheless, there will still be lenders who try and charge you high rates for personal loans. As a rule of thumb, you should never be paying more than you would for a credit card. Personal loans that are unsecured will obviously have higher rates, but they should still be very affordable. Those that are secured should have rates that are well below 10%. You should not be paying a lot of interest on a secured loan!

Low Origination Fee

Many lenders will charge you an origination fee to start your loan off. You should be aiming to have as small of an origination fee as possible – sometimes you can even get them to waive it. Don’t get tricked into having a low interest rate because you have a super high origination fee. Lenders might try and do this if you’re getting a small personal loan – make sure to be aware of this.

Online Portal

Often the best lenders for small personal loans will have online portals that can help you keep track of your loan balance and what you owe. This is a great feature that helps you better understand if you’re making the correct payments on time. You don’t want to end up missing a payment by mistake because you have limited access to the information that you need. This is a quick way to damage your credit score. Check if the lender that you’re considering has a way for you to constantly stay updated on your loan.

Low Late Fees

If you think you’re someone who will end up missing a payment, you should make sure to look at the cost of a late fee. You don’t want to end up having to make large payments because you pay your bill late. This is the easiest way to end up with more debt. We don’t suggest that you make any payments late, this will negatively impact your credit score, but if you think it might happen, look for low late fees.

Trustworthy Lender

One of the most underrated components that determines the best personal loans on the market is how trustworthy your lender is. You don’t want to work with a lender that has a bad reputation. If you do, you could end up having a truly awful experience. The last thing you want to do is enter into a long-term loan agreement with a company that tries to charge you hidden fees and prevent you from using your loan to your full capacity. It might sound like overkill, but having a bad lender can truly be a hassle.

The best way to make sure that you’re working with a lender that has a good reputation is to check the various consumer watchdog groups available to you on the internet. Consumer Affairs and the Better Business Bureau are both really good companies to use for research. They provide a non-biased platform for people to review companies they have worked with in the past. It’s the perfect way to make sure that the company you’re trying to work with has an up-to-date record of success. Don’t work with a company that has a bad track record – even if they have low interest rates.

Quick Cash

You should be looking for a lender that is able to get you the money that you’re approved for quickly. Some lenders can take days or weeks to get you the money that you’ve borrowed, while others can do fast money loans in just a few hours. Talk to the prospective lenders that you’re considering working with and ask them how quickly they can get you the money after you’ve been approved.

You’ll want to work with a lender that can provide electronic transfers, this is the best way to make sure that you get the money quickly. Don’t work with someone who will take more than 24 hours to get you the money you need. The best personal loans are ones that you can get in under a day.

Other Lending Products

Another thing that can often dictate what the best personal loan for you is will depend on the other type of lending products the lender is able to offer you. Many borrowers like to have a range of financial products available to them via the same lender. This can make your entire borrowing process much simpler. If you can get a personal loan through your normal bank this might make your lending process much simpler. This bank will also have much better access to your personal financial situation which can help you better apply for loans.

On the other hand, if you have a bad track record with your bank, you might not want to apply for a loan through them. If they don’t think they will be able to lend money to you, they won’t. This can also hurt your ability to get additional finance in the future.

Requirements

Some lenders will have lower requirements when it comes to borrowing, this might be suitable for certain people who don’t have good credit histories. In this case, the best personal loans will be ones that you are able to obtain. You don’t want to apply for a loan that you won’t be able to get, this will only further damage your credit score. Over-applying for loans is one of the easiest ways to end up having long-term problems finding finance.

The more you attempt to borrow quickly, the more desperate lenders will consider you to be. This is the last thing you want to do if you need to get a loan in the near future. Remember – research extensively and apply once!

Aim to Apply Online

You should try and apply online if you have the option to. The best personal loans in the modern era tend to be from online lenders. You also have a lot more choice when it comes to online lenders. Recent developments in the industry have resulted in the emergence of hundreds of different lenders online. You don’t want to use a traditional lender if you can avoid it – the process tends to be significantly longer and will require you to submit extensive documentation for limited reward.

Many traditional lenders will also charge you much higher interest rates as they have larger overheads. You can apply online in a matter of minutes, they will also give you an instant lending decision. This means you won’t have to wait around for weeks to see if you have been approved for financing.

Verdict

The best personal loans on the market will depend on what you’re looking for from your personal loan. Have a long look at the various features that have been mentioned in this article and determine which ones you value the most. You need to make sure to understand what you prioritize when it comes to borrowing, you don’t want to end up with the wrong type of loan.

We have researched some of the best personal loan providers in the nation. You can find a list of them on our homepage. If you want to get a head start in finding the right lender to work with, this can often be good way to do so. You don’t want work with a company that has a bad reputation.

Remember, personal loans are a great way to move forward financially if you use them in the right way. Make sure to check out some of the other articles on our site if you have any more questions.

FAQ

General Personal Loan FAQ

In this section, you will find frequently asked answers to questions pertaining to general personal loans.

Personal Loan Interest Rate

In this frequently asked question section, you will find common questions regarding personal loan interest rates.

Personal Loan Company

In this section, you will find common answers to questions regarding personal loan companies.

Personal Loan Uses

In this frequently asked question section, you will find common questions pertaining to personal loan uses.