Personal loan denied

[Anonymous]

I’m trying to follow all the rebuilding steps, but I’ve hit a snag. Bankruptcy was discharged 6/6/18. Kohl’s card was not IIB and remains intact and active with a $300 CL. Pre qualified and applied/approved for Capital One, no yearly fee $2000 credit line reviewed after 5 months. Shocking because Cap1 was IIB for close to $7000.00. I applied for a $1000 personal loan with my credit union and was denied. I don’t want another hard pull (I’m at 2 for the last 2 1/2 years) so should I just accept the decline and try again in a year?

[jlitnns]

Do you really need the personal loan? Is it just to carry an installment on your reports? 

[Anonymous]

No, I don’t need the loan. I was just trying to establish a small installment to show on my reports.

[Anonymous]

Was it a normal personal loan or a secured/credit builder loan? 

3 days after my discharge I applied for a loan through my CU, I got a call from them the next day. Just called looking for basic information and how I was planning to use my loan. Once I informed the loan rep what I was trying to do he said it would be an easy approval for him.

Basically, all I told him was that I don't need the funds, its strictly for rebuilding my credit and I'd be willing to use my savings as collateral. He ended up creating a 2nd savings account for me and deposited $500 into it that I can't access (can make deposits to it though) and every month the payment is automatically pulled from it. 

I bank with America First Credit Union btw. It did have a hard inquiry associated with it though, I later found out that another credit union local to me (One Nevada) also offers credit builder loans but don't pull credit, you just need to have the funds (minimum $1,000 loan for a minimum of a year).

[Anonymous]

It was a normal, unsecured personal loan with the credit union I already have accounts with. I did note on the application that it was for credit rebuilding purposes. I may wait for the letter and then call the loan officer. If that doesn’t work, is it worth joining Navy Fed? My father was a vet so that is a real possibility for me. I just don’t want to keep having hard pulls with no success.

[Anonymous]

Nobody is going to give you an unsecured personal loan just days after discharge.

It's a shared secured loan that you want, and you only need one if you have no other installment loan (mortgage/car/student) reporting.

[Anonymous]

@amp815

Is it worth it to join Navy Fed? Absolutely! They are a terrific credit union,

they will treat you very well, and they're extremely generous with starting

limits and credit limit increases. Just take care of your accounts, and Navy Fed

will become your newest best friend.

BTW, if you're just looking to establish credit with Navy Fed, you might want

to consider their secured card. Use it responsibly for 6 months to create a

good track record with them, and then apply for a personal loan if you still

want one. Just a thought. Good luck!

[shadanat]

10 days post discharge is too early for a unsecured loan. Secured loan is probably the way to go since you don't need the money.

As SteelerNYC stated, if you have auto/mortgage/student loans reporting then you really don't need a installment loan.

But if you really want one, Navy Federal is great and so is Self-Lender.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestions. My car loan is current and up to date but Chase will not report unless I reaffirm, so I was looking for another installment option. I just opened my Navy Federal accounts last week and will eventually apply for a small loan with them.

[shadanat]

Navy also has a secured loan that you can do in the branch. It's another way to build your history with them