If you need a loan, then you need to find a reliable lender to work with. Borrowing money from a company that doesn’t have a license or has a bad reputation can be an extremely stupid idea. Loan sharking is a huge problem in the United States and across the world. Taking money from a loan shark is one of the worst mistakes you can ever make. Often, people are compelled by violence to repay them.
In order to avoid such individuals, you need to take great care when selecting a lender to work with. This post will tell you how you can:
Lender Location
The lender’s location is one of the first things that you should consider. Ideally, you should choose a lender who’s located in your state. The reason for this is that if they are located in the same state as you, then you don’t have to worry about them following another state’s rules and regulations (which might not apply to you, as an out-of-state resident). If you live in Ohio, then find an Ohio hard money lending team, or a Californian one, or a Texan one… If possible, work with a lender that has a physical office. This is so that you can go in and meet them, or at least know where to find them if you run into any problems.
Type of Loan
What type of loan do you want? The type of loan you want is, of course, another thing that you need to think about. Your credit score will play a role in the type of loan that you are able to get access to. If it’s very bad, then you might need a guarantor. A guarantor loan is when you ask another person, usually a homeowner, to co-sign your loan. Then, if you fail to make repayments they will become financially liable. If they cannot, then the lending company you borrowed from will usually make a civil claim against that person.
Lending License
The company you choose to work with must have a lending license. If they do not, then not only are they operating illegally, but they will not be bound by the same rules and regulations that a licensed one would be. More often than not, companies operating without licenses are in fact loan sharks. If you do not repay a loan shark, they could add interest on top of what you have borrowed and could try and threaten you with violence if you do not repay them on time. You can find out whether or not the company you want to borrow from is licensed by reading their website’s footer because this information is usually there.
Online Reviews
Reviews are always worth reading, even if you are confident that the lender you want to work with is genuine. A lender’s reviews will help you to figure out what they are like to work with, i.e., do they pay out fast, do they harass people, and do they send marketing emails? Avoid reading reviews published on a lender’s own site. Instead, read the ones on Google and Trust Pilot. It’s widespread for lenders (and all businesses, really) to post biased reviews on their websites.
Repayment Tactics
Take some time to learn about your chosen lender’s repayment tactics. All lenders have them, you need to know what your lender’s are. Repayment tactics are the tactics employed when a borrower doesn’t repay them. For loan sharks, it is violence. Proper lending companies will usually send letters, and emails, make phone calls, and then report back to the credit bureau, issuing a default. You do need to be clear about what is going to happen to you if you do not repay your loan, even if you have every intention of repaying it. Knowing what’ll happen if you don’t repay it will help you to prepare in case anything goes wrong.
Credit Score
Bear in mind, in order to get a loan with a proper lending company, you will need to have a good credit score. It is usually only loan sharks that accept people with bad credit scores. People with bad credit scores are too much of a risk for most lenders. You should do some research and find out what your credit score is before applying for a loan. If your credit score is not very good, then you will probably be denied, and your score will drop even further.
If you want to borrow some money, then you need to find a reliable, legal, and trusted lender to work with. Doing that can be difficult. Now you have this page’s advice however, it doesn’t need to be. Good luck!
