The Quest for an SSL alternative to Alliant

[Anonymous]

Randolf Brooks Federal Credit Union:
It's a little different in that you don't have to come up with the money up front. You pay the monthly amount and at the end of the loan you get the money back. There is no hard pull. You can pay however much after you open the loan and it extends the due date. Cost to join credit union is $1. Minimum loan amount is $500. Open to most everyone if you agree to emails from the American consumer council but the membership is Texas based. I work there and it is great in that you don't have to come up with the amount to begin with and in that it helps you to save.

[Cookiegrabber]

So it's a credit builder loan, not a share secured loan, right? Like you don't get access to the $500 until the loan is fully paid and closed? I tried to at least join the CU but they don't take furriners without green cards. Sucks to be a 28th year legal resident without one.

[Anonymous]

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@Cookiegrabber wrote:
So it's a credit builder loan, not a share secured loan, right? Like you don't get access to the $500 until the loan is fully paid and closed? I tried to at least join the CU but they don't take furriners without green cards. Sucks to be a 28th year legal resident without one.

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Have you tried Ideal yet? 

People are experiencing some difficulty joining due to georgraphic restrictions, but please look at post #49 where I urge people to give Ideal a call and try joining with the assistance of a customer service rep.  There should be no problem.

It would be VERY nice to have a genuine alternative to Navy (which many people cannot join) and the Alliant unsecured loan (which has its own downsides).  We need people to test out Ideal.

[Cookiegrabber]

Nope, but I have membership applications pending with 3 credit unions, 1 of which I've angrily reapplied to because they asked stupid questions I couldn't answer when I took their call at 1AM.

[Anonymous]

I had an expense come up and won't be able to give Ideal a try until about 2 weeks.

That RBFCU loan looks like a Credit Builder loan, but they have both Credit Builder and SSL options. I wonder if their SSL works the way we're looking for too.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Cookiegrabber wrote:
So it's a credit builder loan, not a share secured loan, right? Like you don't get access to the $500 until the loan is fully paid and closed? I tried to at least join the CU but they don't take furriners without green cards. Sucks to be a 28th year legal resident without one.

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Have you tried Ideal yet? 

People are experiencing some difficulty joining due to georgraphic restrictions, but please look at post #49 where I urge people to give Ideal a call and try joining with the assistance of a customer service rep.  There should be no problem.

It would be VERY nice to have a genuine alternative to Navy (which many people cannot join) and the Alliant unsecured loan (which has its own downsides).  We need people to test out Ideal.

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Do you know if Ideal does a credit check to open an account or get SSL? 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Do you know if Ideal does a credit check to open an account or get SSL? 

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Here is what post #2 in this thread says about Ideal.

Ideal Credit Union

Score: 85% chance this will work (no one has proven it yet by opening an SSL at this CU and seeing what happens, but the customer service reps have confirmed all the key features)

Advantages:
*  Offers a true SS loan

*  Early paydown while keeping it open

*  Soft pull only

*  Basically anyone can join (involves a one-time $5 donation to a non-profit).

Disadvantage

* A 60-month loan requires a huge initial loan size ($5000).  The much smaller $500 loan is possible but has a 12-month term.

[Anonymous]

Thus there is a credit check with one of the three bureaus, but not a hard check.  There is likely a pull of the applicant's ChexSystems report or possibly EWS report.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Thus there is a credit check with one of the three bureaus, but not a hard check.  There is likely a pull of the applicant's ChexSystems report or possibly EWS report.

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I'll give opening an account a try tomorrow. 

[Anonymous]

Awesome!  Thanks bud. 

Try using the online process first and use the donation to the nonprofit as you method of establishing membership eligibility.  If you get hung up by the fact that their system doesn't like your zip code, that's a problem that others have experienced, a problem that the customer service rep should be able to help you with.  Do give the CSR a call if that happens (during normal banking hours).  The donation to the nonprofit is clearly supposed to be an approved method that doesn't depend on where you live.

Regardless take careful notes on your experience (step by step) and let us know how it goes.