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What is a military loan?
A military loan is an unsecured personal loan that a government agency insures. This loan is intended for army servants and veterans.
Veterans and military members often have unexpected expenses while serving in the army. They may also have financial problems when returning to civilian life, such as difficulty finding a job or losing military benefits. Military loans allow military members to take out a personal loan or mortgage with a lower interest rate and no down payments.
Types of military loans
Military personnel loans
This type of loan offers a personal loan for active duty army members and armed forces employees. Personal military loans cover various expenses. For example, a borrower taking such a loan can pay for a vacation, start a business, or pay unexpected expenses. These personal loans have fixed interest rates and a flexible repayment period. Moreover, a borrower with poor credit has the opportunity to get a bad credit military personal loan that requires a credit score below average.
Military lifestyle loans
This type of loan is created to cover expenses that come after the return of a military member to civilian life. With this loan, the borrower can take a car or motorcycle funding, pay for a trip or relocation, pay for an engagement or a wedding.
Also, the military lifestyle loan allows military members to make debt consolidation on existing high-interest loans. The borrower can combine several credit card payments into one fixed monthly payment.
Military family loans
Military family loans help active duty military members get funding for their families. The borrower can use these personal loans to buy a house for their family or finance home improvement. Military personnel spouses also have the option to get a personal loan. A military family loan can be taken to pay for childcare or children's education. The borrower can provide medical and dental financing for themselves and their family with this type of loan.
Loans for veterans
This category of personal loans includes many credit options for veterans. Veteran military credit allows a veteran borrower to get a personal loan to pay for expenses, such as home improvements or car bills. Also, a military personal loan can be taken by a disabled veteran for the same purposes. A veteran has the opportunity to take out a loan to finance their own business or startup.
The veteran borrower has preferential credit conditions such as a low-interest rate and financial support from the VA. The VA also insures mortgages for veterans. The company doesn't have a requirement for the borrower to make an initial payment and may ask for financial help from the VA if he is unable to make a monthly payment.
Military credit cards
Military members and their spouses can access various types of credit cards.
A military credit card for balance transfers is designed to transfer the balance from a high-interest credit card to a low-interest credit card without any fees.
A credit card for cash back allows the cardholder to receive cash back rewards from all purchases made with a credit card.
A credit card for rewards allows the cardholder to receive rewards by making purchases for travel.
Usually, active military participants do not have time to build credit while serving in the army. Military credit cards for building credit will help such military members to start building credit.
How to apply for a military loan
The main criterion for obtaining a military-type personal loan is the status of an active member of the army, a veteran, or a military spouse. The borrower is considered eligible for active duty military loans if they serve or have served in any unit of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine corps, and Coast Guard. The borrower must be in the reserve of the US Armed Forces under title 10 or title 32. Career retired military service members must prove that he has served in the ranks of the US armed forces for at least 20 years.
To take personal military loans, the borrowers are recommended to have FICO credit scores of at least 610. Usually, the interest rate is lower for borrowers with a high credit score. To get the best repayment terms, the borrower needs to have a credit score of at least 720. The lender will require the borrower's SSN for a credit check. The credit criteria are highly dependent on the specific credit union. To receive the loan approval, the borrower should get several pre-qualifications from different lenders and compare credit conditions.
A credit union may set an additional requirement for the borrower to provide any of these documents to prove the status of an active member of the army, veteran, retiree, or military spouse:
DD Form 214, 215, 256
NGB Form 22
Military ID card
VA issued ID cards for healthcare
Veterans ID card
Veterans Group Membership Card
Veteran designation on driver's license or State Veterans ID card.
At the moment, the potential borrower can obtain a military loan online with the help of online lenders. To get online financing, the borrower needs to access the lender website and start the application procedure by filling out the poem. Next, the borrower must provide personal information such as name, email, credit score, and current duty status. It is also necessary to specify the purpose of the loan and the desired amount.
After that, the borrower needs to enter their contact details, such as a home address, place of residence, and phone number. In the same form, it is necessary to enter the presence of bankruptcies for the last 7 years, the availability of their housing, and the date of birth. Next, the borrower needs to enter his SSN and driver's license number or State ID.
The lender usually asks the borrower to enter information about employment, like the main source of income, the amount of monthly income, and the name of the employer. Also, the borrower will need to enter the details of their bank account to which funds will come after the loan is approved.
The applicants should pay attention to whether a credit union or other financial institution allows them to a get pre-qualification. Pre-qualification implies that the online lender will make a soft credit check that does not affect the borrower's credit score. A hard credit inquiry may negatively affect the credit score in case of a loan refusal.
How to pay a military loan back
The main interest of each borrower is the quick repayment of the loan. Repayment terms for military loans are flexible, and every borrower, especially if their credit history is excellent, can negotiate a loan term with a lender. There are several methods of paying off personal loans that can help the borrowers close the loan in a short time.
Repayment plan
There are several preferential repayment plans for active duty service members. For example, military service can cover part of his student debt during active service in the army with a military bonus. If the borrower enlists for at least 3 years, then in the first year, the army covers 33% of the total amount of debt. Then, every next 2 years, the services cover another third of the loan until it is closed.
Automatic payments
Automatic monthly payments have several advantages at once. Most lenders encourage this method of making loan payments. Therefore, automatic transactions do not require any fees. This payment method allows the borrower not to follow the payment calendar and not to be late with payments avoiding late fees. Timely loan repayments also have a positive effect on the borrower's credit history.
Refinancing
The borrower is advised to look for refinancing options for an existing loan. Refinancing military loans allows you to reduce interest and thereby reduce monthly payments on the loan.
Legal regulations of military loans
Military Lending Act (MLA)
The Military Lending Act (MLA) is a federal law that provides special protection for active service members. According to the MLA, the lender does not have the right to set the interest higher than the Military Annual Percentage Rate, which is 36%. This 36% includes not only interest rates but also finance charges, credit insurance premiums, additional credit services that are sold together with the personal loans, and fees such as application fees, participation fees, and debt cancellation fees. This law covers payday loans, vehicle title loans, installment loans, and some military credit cards.
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)
The Servicemembers, Civil Relief Act is a law that provides active service members with several financial protections at once.
The lender has no right to set the interest rate higher than 6% per year if the borrower is eligible for protection under the SCRA. The interest rate cannot rise above 6% during the entire active service of the borrower and within 180 days after its termination.
SCRA provides several defenses against default judgment in civil cases. If the suing party cannot provide evidence of whether the defendant is an active servant of the army, then for the court, they automatically are. The court may postpone the hearing for 90 days under certain circumstances.
A borrower who took out a mortgage before starting active service in the army cannot be foreclosed on without a court order. This protection is valid during active service and for a year after its termination.
If the borrower signed a lease for housing before active duty service or during active duty service and receives a Permanent Change of Station (PCS), then according to the SCRA, they can terminate a housing without penalty.
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Veteran Affairs is a government organization providing benefits and bonuses for veterans. In addition to bonuses for healthcare and education, the organization provides several bonuses for personal loans and mortgages for veterans. An eligible borrower, when applying for a mortgage, has the right not to make a down payment and, at the same time, will not have to pay PMI. Also, if there are financial problems that lead to problems with monthly mortgage payments, a veteran can contact the VA for help.
The true cost of military loans
The main additional payment on the personal loans is interest. For excellent credit, it averages 6.49%. However, the APR can reach 35% or higher for a borrower with a bad credit. In addition to interest, the borrower still needs to pay some additional fees, such as origination fees, prepayment fees, and late fees. Moreover, veterans must pay the VA funding fee.
Origination fee
The origination fee is a one-time fee deducted from the loan amount. Usually, it costs up to 10% of the loan amount. Some lenders do not take origination fees.
Late fee
A late fee is a penalty for late loan repayments. Usually, lenders set a fixed amount of this fee in the range of $35 to $40. The borrower can avoid this fee if he installs AutoPay for their loan. AutoPay is an automatic write-off of fixed monthly payments using ACH debit.
Prepayment penalty
A prepayment fee is a penalty for early repayment of the loan. Most lenders do not charge customers prepayment penalties. However, in case of early repayment, the borrower is obliged to pay the entire loan amount, including interest. If a certain military loan falls under the MLA, then the borrower also does not have to pay the prepayment fee.
VA funding fee
VA funding fee is a one-time fee that the borrower pays for a VA-backed or VA-direct home loan. The fee allows us to lower the cost of the loan for US taxpayers since the VA home loan program doesn't require down payments or monthly mortgage insurance.
