
Almost every bank or private lender in the United States checks the creditworthiness of a citizen who has applied for a personal loan before considering a loan application. If the borrower's credit history is bad or completely absent, then most likely, they will be denied a loan. This circumstance significantly limits the financing options of a person with a bad credit score and low rating.
If you have a bad credit score, the way out of this situation may be to obtain a loan without a credit check. But, before you go looking for such loans, it will be helpful to know what pitfalls there may be. Here you will find out what loans without a credit check are and see the pros and cons of this type of lending.
What Are No-Credit-Check Loans?
In short, such a loan doesn't imply a hard credit check, so your credit history and credit score don't really matter to a borrower. However, you will still need to confirm your identity, and provide a lender with your passport details, information about your workplace, and a contact phone number.
At the same time, an application for a loan without a credit check does not yet guarantee its approval. A financial institution will still conduct a soft credit check and may refuse to provide you with a personal loan if they are not sure you can repay.
As a rule, loans without a credit check are issued by organizations that provide payday loans, online loans, and credit pawnshops. The risks of non-repayment of loans are compensated by too high-interest rates, commissions, and penalties in case of delay.
What Is a Bad Credit Score?
A bad credit score is determined by the credit rating. It is an indicator of the solvency and reliability of a potential borrower. A good credit score might significantly help when getting a loan, credit card, mortgage, car loan, and even renting a house, getting a job, or starting a business.
In the US, this rating is formed by the following agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Its value can range from 300 to 850. It is closely related to the credit history that appears at the time of registration of an individual taxpayer number (SSN). The credit rating appears after opening the first credit account, and its initial value is usually 650.
The credit rating can increase over time, which has a good effect on the decision of banks to issue a loan. On the other hand, it may go down: when you fail to repay a personal loan, go bankrupt, or simply have frequent delays with your monthly installment payments. A credit score of less than 500 is usually considered bad; values from 500 to 600 may also indicate the unreliability of a borrower. A value of 680 and above is considered a good indicator.
Pros and Cons of No-Credit-Check Loans
Like any other type of lending, no-credit-check loans have both pros and cons:
Pros
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High percentage of approval.
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You can get a bad credit loan for a considerably large amount.
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Quick decision making.
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With timely loan payments, your credit rating increases.
Cons
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High interest rate and commissions.
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In case of non-return, property can be lost.
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The total cost of the loan will greatly exceed the amount you received.
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There is a risk of running into scammers.
What Comprises a Bad Credit Score
To start, let’s consider what information is contained in the credit history:
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Name and surname;
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Addresses of residence (including previous ones);
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Open credit accounts (bank name, agreement number, opening date and type of bank account, current balance or debt amount, minimum loan payment amount).
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The largest amount of debt when the credit limit is exceeded;
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Information about monthly debt payments for the last year;
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Information about jobs (including previous ones);
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Data on loan requests for the last two years;
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Bankruptcy information and collections.
Even one bad entry in the credit report, which will be stored there for years, can affect the credit rating downgrade. For instance, a hard credit check lowers a credit score, and a credit report will keep it for two years. The overdue record can be kept for up to 10 years, while bankruptcy will be displayed in the history for 15 years. All this information may have a negative effect on your credit rating and reduce your chances of obtaining a loan for both a significant amount and a good annual percentage rate.
Major Types of No-Credit-Check Loans
There are several types of loans a borrower can get without a credit check:
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Payday loans. These are short-term loans, usually at very high-interest rates. The loan term is about 14 days, and the interest rate may reach 400% per year in particular regions. To get a payday unsecured loan, you usually only need a passport, employer data, and a bank account. There are plenty of online lenders offering such loans so that you can apply remotely.
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Title loans. They are secured loans, with your car used as a collateral. Such loans range from 25% to 50% of the value of the car. The vehicle must be wholly owned, so you can't use the one under finance or owned by someone else. When you sign the contract and receive the borrowed money, you still own your car and can safely use it. However, a lender has the right to keep the car if a borrower defaults on a loan, e.g., fails to repay it.
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Secured loan (real estate). The conditions for secured loan using a real estate as collateral are similar to a loan secured by a car, only, in this case. An apartment or a house acts as collateral. This type of loan will be appropriate if you need a large amount of money, while the repayment period increases to 10-15-20 years. Remember that in case of non-payment of the debt, the creditor will have the right to evict you to the street.
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Pawnshop loans. Such loans are issued by pawnshops, accepting jewelry, luxury goods, and antiques as collateral. These loans are usually short-term. If you pay off the debt on time, you can get back the pledged item. Otherwise, the pawnshop has every right to sell it.
How to Apply
Before applying for a personal loans without a credit check, you need to choose a reliable lender. When selecting a company for a loan, you should pay attention to its credit conditions. Lenders often give out money at very high-interest rates, so make sure in advance whether the conditions suit you or not and compare different offers. Online lenders offer unsecured and secured personal loans online, so you don't need to visit their offices in person. Still, an online loan implies that you need to share your personal information.
Even when you are going to apply for a loan without a credit check, it doesn't guarantee your approval. To estimate your chances of borrowing money from a particular lender, you can go through a pre-qualification. As a result of pre-qualification, you will see the possible amount you can borrow, potential credit terms, and interest rates. This procedure does not affect the credit rating, as it occurs through the so-called soft credit inquiry.
You can apply for a loan at the office of a credit institution, by phone, or online. Applying online is the easiest, with online payday loan companies reporting their decision within minutes. In other cases, the application may be considered for up to several business days. You will need to fill in a form and indicate your personal data, information about your employer, salary, and bank account number.
After pre-qualification, a lender will make its final decision on your loan. After your application is finally approved, the money will be credited to your bank account, or you can receive it in another way, for instance, in cash.
Main Requirements
Applying for a no-credit-check loan does not guarantee that you will receive it. It's also true for any other loan type, but the point is that no-credit-check loans still imply requirements. The standard requirements lending organizations put forward to borrowers are:
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Majority age,
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Permanent place of work,
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Stable monthly income, and
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Active bank account.
The majority age in the United States is commonly 18 years old, but you need to understand that in order to get a loan, you need a permanent job with a stable income. A permanent job is one that you have had for at least 90 days. Besides, some lenders set a minimum income to qualify for a loan. Overall, they try to protect themselves from borrowers who will not be able to repay the debt.
Ways to Get a No-Credit-Check Loan
There are several ways to get a personal loan for a borrower with poor credit score. The possible ways to get a bad credit loan are:
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Credit cards. Credit cards are often issued without credit history checks, so you can use them to pay for purchases or withdraw cash.
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Online personal loans. Lenders issue microcredits in the form of secured or unsecured loans for a short period and usually at very high-interest rates. The interest rate can reach up to 400% per year, but they are approved by almost everyone in a row.
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Title loans. The lender evaluates the value of your car and decides whether to grant a loan or refuse it. With a favorable decision, there is a chance to get 25-50% of the cost of the car. In case of non-payment of the debt, the lender will have the right to take your car to pay off the debt.
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Second mortgage. This type of loan involves obtaining money secured by real estate. In this case, the house or apartment will serve as collateral, and if the loan is not repaid, the lender will take your home. It is worth considering carefully whether you can repay this debt before resorting to this method of lending.
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Pawnshop. These are micro-loans secured by electronics, jewelry, luxury goods, or antiques. The interest there is usually high, and the term for repaying the debt is short. If you do not have time to return the money on time, your things will be sold to pay off the debt.
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Guarantor in the bank. Banks can issue bad credit loans to people with poor credit scores if they have a loan guarantor. The guarantor acts as a guarantor that the debt will be repaid to the bank on time. If the borrower does not pay off the debt, the guarantor will have to do it for them.
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Loans from relatives. Relatives most likely will not be interested in your credit score. If they have free savings, then you can apply to them for financial assistance.
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Student personal loans. If you are attending a college or university, you may qualify for a federal student loan. The interest rate on such loans ranges from 4 to 8.25% per year. In this case, the US government becomes the guarantor of the student loan.
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Payroll bank. Even if you have a bad credit history, you can try to get a loan from a bank with a salary account. Here, the bank may make a positive decision without checking the credit rating if your salary can cover the monthly payments.
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Alternative payday loans (PAL). This type of payday loan is short-term, but for a longer period and at a lower interest rate than regular payday loans. Members of federal credit unions can receive such personal loans. These institutions do not check the credit report for the creditworthiness of its member. But, not all credit unions issue such payday loans.
Legal Regulations
In the United States, much attention is paid to protecting the rights of citizens. Consumer lending is regulated by federal law and local state laws. The following are the primary current federal laws that protect the interests of borrowers:
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According to the law on the reliability of the information, credit institutions must bring the full cost of the loan to the client. If this has not been done, the contract can be terminated through the court.
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The Law on Equal Access to Credit prohibits discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, marital status, and religious beliefs. This law allows you to receive loans if the source of income is social benefits, as well as if the client disputes his debt to the bank in court.
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The Credit Reporting Integrity Act governs the activities of credit bureaus that collect data on borrowers. If you find inaccuracies in the reports, you can safely challenge them.
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The Credit Billing Integrity Act regulates the good faith debiting of bank customers' credit accounts. The law protects bank customers from illegal write-offs from accounts. If the client notices an error in the account statement, they can also challenge the erroneous write-off.
How to Repay a No-Credit-Check Loan
If you are going to take a short-term payday loan at a rate of 400% per year, then it would be wiser to repay the debt as quickly as possible in order to overpay less interest. If the interest rate is less aggressive, then you can pay the minimum monthly payments so that you do not have to give all your money towards debt.
Ideally, everyone should have a financial cushion in case of unexpected expenses in order to avoid delinquency and not apply for new loans. It is better to accumulate an amount that would be enough for you for at least 3 months. Of course, having a low credit rating and debts on loans is difficult to do. But, by paying off existing loans on time, you can improve your credit rating and feel more financially confident in the future.
Whether you borrow bad credit loans in forms of unsecured loans, secured loans, payday loans, or other personal loans, there are maybe fees like origination fee, prepayment fee, and non-payment fee. You need to keep track of your payment schedule so that you won't be subjected to them.
In case you pay off your bad credit loans successfully, meeting all the payments on time, you can improve your bad credit score. Next time you will be signing a loan agreement on better terms due to improved credit history.
The Real Cost of a No-Credit-Check Loan
The actual cost of the loan is the amount that the client pays the credit institution to use funds. Each borrower can calculate the total cost of the loan on their own. Also, the lender, in turn, must disclose to the client the entire amount that the borrower will pay. It must be remembered that in case of late payments, commissions and penalties will be added to the cost of the loan.
Thus, the real value of a loan can increase. Also, the bank can increase the interest rate unilaterally if such a possibility is specified in the contract. Therefore, before signing the document, you should carefully study the conditions. It is essential that you know the total cost of the loan in advance before you sign your agreement with a lender.
If the bank hides this information, the transaction should be declared invalid, and the loan agreement should be terminated.
The borrower has the right to repay their personal loan ahead of schedule, but at the same time, he might have to pay a commission, the amount of which depends on the bank or other credit institution. It usually varies from 1% to 3% of the total debt.
For example: suppose you take a loan for $700 at 5% per year for three years. The monthly installment will be $20.98. Thus, the total cost of the loan will be $755.27, which means that the overpayment for three years will be $55.27. If you borrow the same amount for a year, you will pay $59.93 monthly, and the total interest will be $19,10.