@Anonymous wrote:
If you need an installment payment (because you don't have a car loan, student loan, nor other loan product like Affirm nor a personal loan) then Self is a great product. Mine was one year, $89/month for $1000. I knew I'd have rehabbed defaulted student loans coming online about 9 months into the Self repayments, so I opted for the one-year term. If you have no other loan product and don't foresee getting any, then go for the longer term like 2 years. Additionally, you might consider that your score will likely dip at first, but you'll get lots of points when the balance of what you owe goes below 8.9%. Some folks pay back the loan to a certain amount so that the B/L ratio is lower ( ie owing $750 on a $1k loan is 75% util. but a $900 balance on the same loan is a utilization of 90%). Good luck
You were smarter than me lol
I did not find the forums until many months after I had started my Self Loan and well before I started rehabbing my SLs. This left me with my Self loan completing 4 months before my SLs finished rehabbing (plus it takes an extra month or two or so for the defaults to be removed and "new" old TLs to be added back on).
So, my Self lender ended in August, with reporting updates being delayed and gave me my best mix/util boost the last two months, but once it reported closed, my scores took a hit, and I will have to accept that until at least Dec/Jan/Feb when the SLs kick back in.
I was much smarter getting a Self loan for my SO, as it will complete right after his rehabs are completed and reporting is in order.
I did the $50/mo plan and it went just fine, but then they started offering the secured CC to go with it and it made me greatly wish I had done the $150/mo plan.
I set up the $150/mo plan for my SO if it looked like at the end of the loan term that he is not where we hope to be in his rebuild, so he has the option of a secured CC with a decent limit.
The $/mo does not matter score-wise if it is strictly for credit mix and not to get the secured CC.
Length will matter depending on when you forsee yourself getting another installment loan in your credit profile (SL/Auto/mortgage/personal loan/SSL/etc.).
I do not recommend getting the 1 year loan over and over, as that will greatly reduce your AAoA if you keep getting a new TL every year just for credit mix.
Of course, the best installment loan option is doing the SSL trick with NFCU. If you can somehow get yourself into NFCU, you should 100% go that route instead, as that will give you the best score boost and for 5 years.
If you cannot in any way get into NFCU, then Self Lender is an excellent choice. I had no complaints and payout was exceptionally quick once the term end.
Good luck!
