Link: https://www.pexels.com/uk-ua/photo/163056/
Personal loans help to meet a whole range of needs — from unexpected home improvements to last-minute expenses. Unlike payday loans or credit cards, they often come with lower interest rates, especially for applicants with good credit history.
The best personal loans offer fast and convenient approvals; if you need to get 100 dollars now, they got you covered.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the most attractive offers available for consumers this fall.
LightStream
LightStream is a great choice for emergencies — such as critical home repairs or urgent medical care. It is a consumer-lending division of Trust, the result of merging SunTrust Bank and BB&T.
LightStream offers personal loans from as little as $5,000 up to $100,000. Repayment terms vary from two to seven years; the borrower must match several administrative requirements to qualify for same-day funding.
For example, if you’re requesting a loan from LightStream, they will ask you to provide relevant banking information and complete the final verification process.
Rocket Loans
According to the "Approval of small businesses loans in the United States in the 2nd quarter 2021, by lender type" statistics, most lenders pay very limited time to review the documents from a borrower, and that increases the risks of scams.
Link: https://www.statista.com/statistics/754738/small-businesses-loan-approval-rates-usa/
One of the opportunities to avoid such experience is maintaining portfolio-level data analytics; it will help to define the applications that are ineligible and fraudulent.
Rocket Loans scored high in terms of the speed the applications are approved, and a low credit score requirement (580).
However, you’ll still have to pay origination fees between 1% and 6%, with repayment terms from three to five years.
Avant
Avant is a consumer-lending platform that offers both secured and unsecured personal loans. It is a great option for middle-income borrowers, who have less than stellar credit but need money fast.
Avant has flexible repayment terms (from two to five years), and a pretty high range of approved amounts (from $2,000 to $35,000). They will charge you up to a 4,75% administrative fee, and an Annual Percentage Rate (APR), depending on your credit score.
The best thing about Avant is that they don’t need an exceptional credit history, and provide money fast; nevertheless, you should be aware of high starting APR for first-time borrowers, and a strict lender’s policy against any co-signers.
SoFi
SoFi is a lending platform, which offers unsecured fixed-rate personal loans. It’s a good choice for emergency circumstances, as the funds are available within the next business day.
The company began operating in 2011 and continues to stand out among competitors because of its high loan amounts and availability of extended loan terms (from two to seven years).
It allows joint applications, low APR rates (plus, a discount in case of autopay), and no additional origination fees.
However, some of the former applicants reported quite difficult qualification standards at SoFi: you can’t be 100% sure, if you’re eligible for a loan or not, which, of course, takes time. Plus, the lenders don’t allow direct payment to third-party creditors for debt consolidation.
Upgrade
Upgrade make online and mobile banking much easier: it allows its customers to request a loan in almost every state (except Iowa, Vermont, and West Virginia).
Compared to the other lenders, the maximum APRs in Upgrade is on the high end (7.99% to 35.97%), but there’s no prepayment penalty.
Borrowers can use their loans to cover a variety of needs, such as emergencies, or business fees. What’s more, Upgrade does not require applicants to meet a minimum income requirement, but borrowers make more than $30,000 per year on average.
The main disadvantage of working with a lender is high APRs and the limited number of repayment periods (no more than two at a time).
Upstart
Sounds too similar to the previous lender? We’ll prove you wrong! Upstart is famous for its artificial intelligence approach to measuring borrowers’ qualifications.
They can approve more loans in the same period of time as competitors, which can work to your advantage. For example, when you need money urgently for whatever reason.
With relatively high APRs (between 7.98% and 35.99%), Upstart cannot pretend to be the top one on our list. Although, if taking the platform’s minimum 600 score and fast funding options, borrowers can request from $1,000 to $50,000 and get them in no time.
OneMain Financial
The loans from OneMain can be a great option for borrowers having a poor credit history. The company offers flexibility during payment periods and can lower your rate under some circumstances.
The pros of working with OneMain are:
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you can choose a payment date;
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you can request joint or secured loans;
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you can get the money the same business day;
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you can apply for a debt consolidation plan.
However, everything has its flaws, and OneMain is no exception. Here’s what you need to know before applying:
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the rates at OneMain are high compared to most of the lenders;
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OneMain will likely charge an origination fee from you;
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you won’t receive a discount for autopay.
So, like it or not, the OneMain is good (especially, if you’re not proud of your credit score), but it also has pitfalls, which might impact your financial health.
LendingClub
Last but not least, LendingClub is a peer-to-peer lender and the largest online lending platform for personal loans. The applicants’ borrowing amounts start from $1,000 and can go much higher, depending on a credit history quality.
Founded in 2007, LendingClub has worked with over 3 million customers, funding almost $55 billion in loans.
It doesn’t have the fastest time funding, though: proceeds are typically available as soon as four days after approval.
The benefits of applying to Lending Club are the permission to have co-applicants (it’s always great when somebody has got your back, right?) and paying directly to the third-party creditors (as part of a balance transfer loan).
Summary
As you may see, there are lots of great options for quick loans this fall. You may choose a lender depending on extra rates, or the speed of funding, but you have to remember — don’t rush. Always take time to reconsider your budget and think carefully about the repayment procedure.