If you find yourself short on cash or desperately in need of consolidating your debt, getting a personal loan might be a good option. However, when your credit is less than ideal, you might wonder whether or not you’ll be able to borrow the money you need.
Before you desperately search Google for things like “bad credit personal loans guaranteed approval direct lenders,” know that there are some reasonable options that can help you get the cash you need.
Are you wondering which direct lenders for bad credit personal loans are the best and which you should stay away from?
Let’s take a deep dive into the world of personal loans to help you improve your financial situation.
Can You Get a Personal Loan With Bad Credit?
Whether you want to consolidate debt or cover the cost of an emergency, having a bad credit score doesn’t necessarily hold you back from getting a personal loan. However, it might require that you put in some additional work in order to qualify.
There are a number of steps you will want to take if you’re trying to get a personal loan with bad credit.
Check Your Credit
It is common for lenders to have a requirement when it comes to a minimum credit score. This means that if your score is lower than that, your application could be rejected. You will also want to look at your credit report to ensure that there aren’t any errors that are hurting your score.
Compare Lenders
When you’re considering taking out a personal loan, you might assume that every lender you send an application to will send you back the same offer. Actually, though, this is far from the truth.
Every lender has its own rate ranges and borrower requirements. This means that it’s worth looking into a number of different options.
If you have bad credit and are applying for a personal loan, it can be worth finding a lender that offers helpful features such as a mobile app, credit-building tools, and fast funding.
Pre-Qualify
When you are comparing loan offers or are trying to determine whether or not you qualify for a loan, pre-qualification can be especially useful. This can tell you what loan amount, rate, and repayment terms you can expect to receive once you apply. Since this doesn’t negatively impact your credit score, it means that you can learn more about your options without dinging your credit.
This is a feature that some banks and most online lenders offer.
Add to Your Application
When you have bad credit, it can mean that you pay a lot more in interest over the life of a loan. However, you can add a co-signer in order to get more favorable rates and terms if someone is willing to sign on with you. A co-signer is agreeing to pay the loan if you default on it.
You also might consider looking into a secured loan. This means that you offer up collateral, such as an investment account or a car, that the lender can take possession of if you fail to repay the loan.
Apply
Finally, it’s time to apply. You’ll want to gather all the necessary documents which include your pay stubs, W-2s, social security number, and financial statements.
Do you have a better-than-average credit score? Check out this SoFi loan offer.
What Is the Difference Between a Payday Loan and a Personal Loan?
The basic terms between payday loans and personal loans differ. You’ll want to understand the difference before pursuing either option.
One of the major differences is that personal loans usually have a term of at least two years. Payday loans, on the other hand, are extremely short-term and are usually due to being repaid within a month.
If your credit is less than ideal, you might find yourself searching for things like “payday loans for bad credit online” or “payday loans bad credit direct lender.” Payday loans can be a lot easier to access than personal loans, but they also typically have much higher interest rates. Some payday loan programs could easily be considered instances of predatory lending.
Payday loans are usually taken out for smaller amounts of money, while personal loans can involve a much higher loan amount. For example, some companies might let your borrow up to $100,000.
If you have a choice between getting a personal loan and a payday loan, the former will definitely be less expensive. With payday loans, the cost of taking out the loan is often way more than is reasonable.
What Is a Direct Lender?
Before we jump into talking about direct lenders for bad credit personal loans, let’s take a minute to understand what a direct lender is exactly.
When you take out a personal loan, you can either work with a loan broker, lead provider, or affiliate, or you can work with a direct lender. Direct lenders are institutions that are offering you a loan directly, while these other parties are simply performing the task of matching you with a lender.
There are a number of benefits of working with a direct lender. These include:
- Allowing you the freedom to compare lenders to pick the right one for your needs
- Saving you money by cutting out the middle man
- Being more secure since your information won’t be shopped to various third parties, limiting your exposure to unscrupulous or fraudulent practices
- Providing you with increased transparency
As you can see, you can protect your financial information and save money when you work with a direct lender.
Direct Lenders For Bad Credit Personal Loans
Whenever you are giving out your personal financial information, you will want to do your due diligence when it comes to the company you are working with. Unfortunately, there are many scammers out there looking to take advantage of people. It’s worth learning more about how to avoid loan scams to ensure that you don’t become a victim of this predatory practice.
Upgrade
If you are looking for direct lenders for bad credit personal loans, a good place to start your search is with Upgrade. They are a strong option for people with fair and bad credit, and they offer discount opportunities and customizable loan features.
According to NerdWallet, the minimum credit score for an Upgrade personal loan is 560. Loans can range from $1,000 to $50,000 and the APR can range from around 5.94 to 35.47%.
While there are a number of positives to this direct lender, they do charge late fees and origination fees.
Rise Credit
You should only consider borrowing from Rise Credit if you are left with no other options. While there is no minimum credit score for receiving a loan between $500 and $5,000, their APR can range between 50 and 299%. These loans are designed for bad credit borrowers, but the potentially outrageously high APR makes this a very costly option.
NetCredit
NetCredit is another direct lender that doesn’t have a minimum credit score. You can receive loans for between $1,000 and $10,000 from this lender, but the APR can range from 34-155%.
Again, you will definitely want to look for a loan with a lower APR before choosing to borrow from NetCredit. This is a last-resort option.
NavyFederal
This might be a reasonable option for a bad credit personal loan if you are a member of Navy Federal. With no minimum credit score and a reasonable APR range of between 7.49 and 18%, members with fair credit might find this to be a good fit. Loan sizes from NavyFederal can range between $250 and $50,000.
FirstTech
This is another good option for people with bad credit. With no minimum credit score, an APR range between 6.70 and 18%, and loan amounts available between $500 and $50,000, FirstTech can loan funds within one business day.
It’s Worth Shopping Around When It Comes to Bad Credit Personal Loans From Direct Lenders
There is a truly wide range of potential loan terms when it comes to the different direct lenders for bad credit personal loans. For this reason, it’s definitely worth shopping around and finding the option that works best for you. When you are borrowing money to help your financial situation, the last thing you want to do is end up with way more debt than you can handle or outrageous interest rates.
Beware of offers that say things like “no credit check loans direct lenders” or “bad credit loans guaranteed approval direct lenders.” Advertisements that claim you are guaranteed to be approved or that they don’t check your credit could potentially be scams.
Are you looking to learn more about different loan options? Check out our library of resources here.