topic Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go in General Credit Topics

How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Wed, 14 May 2025 16:47:04 GMT

I'm going to apply for a loan online but I want to be able to research terms before I say go. Is there a way to be smart?

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

FlaDude — Wed, 14 May 2025 19:24:14 GMT

I used the prequal tool at CK and other sites. They check a bunch of lenders with just a soft pull and show rates and terms. I got three loans that way and never had any issue getting the loan for the terms promised.

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 05:13:37 GMT

What is CK?

Thanks

Mike

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

House1204 — Thu, 15 May 2025 11:52:53 GMT

@MeCasa wrote:
What is CK?
Thanks
Mike

Credit Karma

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 13:32:41 GMT

I'm new to all this, how do I use CK?

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 14:15:45 GMT

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 14:18:36 GMT

My apologies, I don't even know how to use this site. Do I just hit 'take offer' or the link that says 'See details , rates, and terms'

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

House1204 — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:07:10 GMT

@MeCasa wrote:
My apologies, I don't even know how to use this site. Do I just hit 'take offer' or the link that says 'See details , rates, and terms'

If you hit the take offer button it will take you to SoFi so that you can continue the application.

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 15:26:59 GMT

Thank you for your help, will that count as a hard pull if I hit that link. And is there a place in the future where I can negotiate the terms and amount? Perhaps they will say no to $80 and a possibility they will say yes to $50. Will I eventually have this conversation with Sofi? I hate to aim to high and just get turned down, that is never good in my experience and some places lock your account (cannot apply for a loan for 30 days)

Contradiction in Terms

MeCasa — Thu, 15 May 2025 16:53:15 GMT

Ive been trying to ask questions so that I understand. I'm going to apply for a loan with sofi. I'd like to ask for unsecured $50,000. But when I try and learn the proper way to go aboutthis I mget a contradiction in answers. Some say apply for the $50k and you can negotiate down to 30K and they will not do a hard pull, others (a lot) say that if you get declined at 50K you should not ask for a lower amount and not ask at all for minimum 30 days and many say 4-6 months (assinine in my humble opinion)

So what to do?

Re: Contradiction in Terms

GZG — Thu, 15 May 2025 18:29:20 GMT

@MeCasa wrote:
Ive been trying to ask questions so that I understand. I'm going to apply for a loan with sofi. I'd like to ask for unsecured $50,000. But when I try and learn the proper way to go aboutthis I mget a contradiction in answers. Some say apply for the $50k and you can negotiate down to 30K and they will not do a hard pull, others (a lot) say that if you get declined at 50K you should not ask for a lower amount and not ask at all for minimum 30 days and many say 4-6 months (assinine in my humble opinion)

So what to do?

ask for what you want, you get to this screen where you confirm to see if they can make you an offer, if you like the offer, you can then accept and then get any HPs and I assume at that point they will ask for any docs if needed

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

House1204 — Thu, 15 May 2025 20:14:00 GMT

@MeCasa wrote:
Thank you for your help, will that count as a hard pull if I hit that link. And is there a place in the future where I can negotiate the terms and amount? Perhaps they will say no to $80 and a possibility they will say yes to $50. Will I eventually have this conversation with Sofi? I hate to aim to high and just get turned down, that is never good in my experience and some places lock your account (cannot apply for a loan for 30 days)

You will not get a hard pull until you accept the offer. Yes when you click the take offer button it will take you to Sofi and you will see the terms.

Re: How best to research terms without taking a hit until you say go

FlaDude — Thu, 15 May 2025 20:25:38 GMT

@MeCasa wrote:
I'm new to all this, how do I use CK?

No problem. There are a bunch of sites that allow you to see your credit report details and scores. Many of them provide Vantage scores which are not widely used compared to FICO, but the ability to see your reports and see pre-qualified offers are still useful to many. Others include Nerd Wallet, Wallet hub, Experian, etc. For any of these sites, you'll need to register which will include providing your SSN and doing some identity verification so they can pull your report info and scores. Once you've registered, you can check their loan or credit card prequalification pages.