Where's the best place for getting a small loan with middle of the road credit?

[Sixburgh79]

Basically lookin to get a small 10-13k loan to consolidate my cards into one payment... Not sure if there are any places that someone can point me towards that are known to give decent loans without ridiculous interest rates etc..

I don't want to do an agency, I feel a small loan would be best.. But any info you guys have is appreciated

[Anonymous]

Good job on taking this step!

A couple of questions:

1. What is your FICO score? Just like with a credit card, this is going to determine where you might qualify and what your rate and fees might be if you do qualify.

2. What is your goal? To lower your rate so you can pay it off as quickly as possible? Or to lower your minimum payment so you can better make ends meet? If it's the former, you want to be very conscious of origination fees, because they're just going to set you back further before you even start digging out (and you might be money ahead to just hit it really hard without consolidating). I'd be very conscious of fees anyway, but they are a little more palatable if you're looking at a longer term repayment period.

3. Do you have anything you can borrow against? Most likely, this would be equity in a house or a retirement fund. If you have a 401k, for instance, and you borrow against it, the origination fee is likely to be much less and the interest you pay goes back into your 401k. Some people discourage this because they say your money stops working for you while you have it borrowed. That's not true! You're making whatever your interest rate is, which is probably more than you can reliably expect to make in the stock market over time -- and you don't have to worry about the market tanking.

[Anonymous]

Very great question. 

As mentioned by the other user. Banks use a score number risk guide. For instance 700-750 2%, 650-700 5% 

Some indivduals use risk base factors that are not mentioned. Its totally up to the lender, and the guy approving or denying ( I call this the switchboard operator) 

Another factor I would look at is how bad you're Debt-To-Income ratio is. This a common factor on how they approve/deny a applicant. Credit unions typically are the BEST place to consolidate debt into one monthly payment ( or with their credit card). I personally have done this multiple times. 

I hope this helps!

-Iceywarm

[Sixburgh79]

Thanks for the replies guys, so here's my first question is which fico is the absolute best to use? I have a few at my disposal like my Discover fico says 682... But anytime I've went and applied for something outside of CCs they always seem to pull a single score from TU or something and it's generally lower than any fico I have.

My debt ratio with my ccs is at about 32%. I had it at about 8 but last year we had to use the cards a bit and I spread it out to not max any cards out really, mainly now all id like to do is combine it into one monthly payment and pay chunks into it. Right now I'm at like every few days a cc payment since it's spread out on a handful of cards.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[Anonymous]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys, so here's my first question is which fico is the absolute best to use?  

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There are a whole bunch of specialty FICO scores (like for auto loans or mortgages). And each of the three Credit Reporting Agencies has a slightly different score for each one. But your FICO 8 (what Discover gives you for TransUnion) is going to be as good a gauge as anything as to where you're at. Although they aren't all the same, they pretty much all go up together and go down together.

At 32%, you're at a nice place, because as soon as you drop below 29%, you should see a boost in your scores. The best way to do that, of course, is to pay it down. But another option would be to request a credit limit increase if you have a card that's been open for awhile without  negatives. The increase in score you get might be just enough to push you over the top (given where you are now and what you could see).

[Sixburgh79]

Well the thing is my scores were rocking nicely last year when I was about 8% ratio... So yea once I get below 30% it'll be sweet again. My main concern is just forking out payments like every other couple days is all, so that's why I'm tryin to find somewhere that gives a good small loan but decent interest.

I was going to call my bank but wasn't sure if maybe there's an online company that many vouch for.

[CreditInspired]

Hi OP

What do you mean by Agency?

IMHO, I don’t think a $10-13K loan is small so I’ll start there. First, it’s difficult to answer your question without history. In order to understand your likelihood of being approved for a loan, some DPs would be helpful. What is your UT on individual cards and across the board? What is your AAOA and AOYA? Any negatives on your CRs? What is your DTI ratio?

These are the things loan companies look at. If you belong to a CU, you may get better rates.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
Basically lookin to get a small 10-13k loan to consolidate my cards into one payment... Not sure if there are any places that someone can point me towards that are known to give decent loans without ridiculous interest rates etc..

I don't want to do an agency, I feel a small loan would be best.. But any info you guys have is appreciated

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My suggestion would be a credit union. IMHO they have the best terms, and good credit unions provide the best customer service.

[Anonymous]

Apply for credit cards with 0% balance transfer rates and transfer a balance.  You can find a list of them on the internet.

If your credit score is fine without lates or chargeoffs, judgements and the like and you have under 50% utilization obtaining a 0% balance transfer card shouldn’t be difficult.  I don’t know what limit you will get from one or more 0% Balance transfer cards,  but you will at least be able to get at leaat some of it transferred at 0% to reduce your interest.  Look for cards without balance transfer fees on promotional 0% offerings.

[Sixburgh79]

Problem with that is I won't get a card that has a limit around 13k. My highest is 6k and others are 4 to 5k.