All three of the alternatives found thus far (see post #2) report to all three bureaus. If a particular bank/CU did not report to all three bureaus, that would be listed as a major disadvantage. I include post #2 below for your convenience:
CUs/Banks that work for sure (though they may not be perfect)
Navy Federal Credit Union
Score: 99% chance this will work (recent datapoint here)
Advantages:
* Offers a true SS loan, early paydown while keeping it open, etc.
Disadvantages:
* Navy may require a hard pull to join (mixed reports on this)
* Navy has more challenging criteria to join, but some people have found a way to circumvent this. (E.g. a dead grandfather who was in the army)
* A 60 month loan has a large minimum loan amount ($3000)
Alliant Credit Union (unsecured loan option)
Score: 99% chance this will work
Advantages:
* Works basically just like a Share Secure loan as far as early paydown
* The early paydown essentially negates any problem with the interest rate
Disadvantages:
* Hard pull (we expect on Equifax)
* People with low scores may be rejected
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.
Reminder: If a person is preparing to buy a car in the next 10 months (to take one example) the 60 month term has no real benefit. His needs will be fully met with a small $500 loan and a 12 month term. Such a borrower should still execute the full SSL Technique as described by folks here on the forums, which means paying the loan to under 8.9% in month 1.
