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Getting financing for $15,000 is a responsible financial decision that should only benefit you. To avoid misunderstandings and problems with the loan, you need to study this issue from different sides. To do this, you first need to find out how quickly you can get a loan and what requirements you must meet and what you can use such personal loans for.
How you can use a $15,000 loan?
$15,000 loans can cover different expenses, and you can use them for many purposes. Here, you will find general uses of $15,000 personal loans.
- Home improvement projects. A $15,000 loan is sufficient to make serious home improvement projects. Some borrowers prefer to take home equity or renovation loans for such purposes. However, these types of loans are better used for larger-scale home improvements that require a larger budget. A borrower who takes a home equity loan risk losing their property when problems with payments appear.
- Debt consolidations. The main downside of credit cards is that many credit card holders fall into a debt cycle, in which their debt grows faster than they can pay it off. A $15,000 personal loan may be a suitable way out of the situation. This loan can be used as a debt consolidation loan, as it has a lower interest rate than any credit card. The borrower can take out a $15,000 loan and pay off all high-interest debts. This way, they can consolidate debt and get rid of it after paying the $15,000 loan.
- Major purchases. $15,000 personal loans are suitable for making major purchases. Compared to other credit options with a high credit limit, such as a credit card or home equity loan, a personal loan has a lower interest rate and lower requirements for credit score and income level. Therefore, the borrower can use this loan to pay for a wedding, vacation, or even buy a car.
- Mortgage down payments. A large down payment amount for a mortgage has many advantages. A borrower who makes a down payment of at least 20% of the mortgage loan amount renounces the obligation to pay for private mortgage insurance. This means the total interest payment will be lower. A $15,000 personal loan can help a borrower have more funds for a down payment. However, they need to be careful, as each loan taken affects the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio of the borrower.
How to get a $15,000 loan?
Qualifying for a $15,000 loan
Most personal loan lenders have similar eligibility requirements. To receive a $15,000 personal loan, a potential borrower has to:
Be of legal age, 18 years old in most states. To verify your identity, you need to provide a passport, a state-issued ID, or a valid driver's license.
Have a stable source of income, preferably employment, but other types of income are also considered. The lender may require the provision of documents such as bank statements, pay stubs, W-2s, or tax returns to confirm the level of income.
Have a debt-to-income ratio of only 45%-50%. The debt-to-income ratio shows how much of your monthly income you spend on monthly payments on all loans.
Credit score requirements
The most important requirement to meet is the minimum credit score. A good credit history of the borrower is a guarantee that they will not have problems with loan payments.
Before applying for a $15,000 loan, you need to check what credit score you have. To do this, you can contact your bank, credit union, or credit card issuer or by requesting a credit report from credit bureaus.
Different lenders have specific requirements for credit scores:
Online lenders consider borrowers with a credit score in the range of fair credit to excellent credit: with a minimum FICO score of 600.
Credit unions are less likely to consider borrowers with fair credit as eligible. If you want to get a personal loan in a credit union, then you need to have good credit, which is at least a 629 FICO score.
Banks are the most demanding lenders. Such lenders prefer borrowers with good to excellent credit with a minimum credit score of 670.
If your credit score is less than 629, then you should consider other ways to get a $15,000 personal loan. This is so because if you have fair credit, then most likely, the lender will offer you such a high annual percentage rate (APR) that this loan will become unprofitable for you.
The funding time
The standard funding time for $15,000 personal loans is from 1 to 5 business days. The fastest funding is provided by online lenders. The borrower can even find an online lender with same-day funding. Delays can only occur on weekends or holidays, as the payment can only be processed on business days. A $15,000 personal loan is the fastest way to get financing for this amount.
Where to get a $15,000 loan?
Choosing the right lender is a crucial step in obtaining the right loan for your needs. The personal loan lenders market is constantly growing, and each type of lender offers unique features that can be useful for you. The main types of such lenders are banks, credit unions, and online lenders.
- Banks. Besides the fact that banks have the highest requirements for credit score and income level, they also require the borrower to have an active bank account. With such high requirements, banks do not offer reduced interest rates or flexible loan terms. Even if your credit allows you to be eligible for a personal loan from a bank, it is recommended that you pay attention to other types of lenders.
- Credit unions. To take out loans in credit unions, the borrower must be a member of the union. To become a member of this financial institution, they must live or work in a specific area. If you are a member of the union, then you can take out a $15,000 personal loan with a lower interest rate since credit unions are non-profit organizations.
- Online lenders. A borrower with any credit from fair to excellent is recommended to apply for a $15,000 personal loan with online lenders. The loan process for such lenders is completely online. The borrower fills out the loan application, uploads the documentation, and receives credit approval. Most lenders allow the borrowers to receive funds for the next business day.
Only online lenders enable the borrowers to compare lenders so easily with no harm to credit history. Receiving pre-qualifications from multiple lenders allows you to compare personal loan interest rates and loan terms.
How to get a $15,000 loan with bad credit?
The larger the personal loan amount requested by a borrower with bad credit, the fewer opportunities they have to get such a loan. For example, payday loans have a credit limit of $5,000. Finding a $15,000 collateral for a pawnbroker is also a challenge. However, if your credit is bad, you still have opportunities to get such financing.
- Apply for $15,000 loans with co-borrower. Lenders that provide personal loans rarely prevent the borrowers from having a co-applicant with a good credit report. All top online lenders have a separate section in the applications where the borrower can fill in the co-signer data. To add a co-signer, you need to fill in all the same personal information that you filled in about yourself. This option may also suit you if you have about the minimum required credit score to qualify for a loan, since a co-signer will allow you to have a lower interest rate.
- Apply for secured personal loans. Secured loans require collateral, or as it is also called, a security deposit, which is essentially a certain amount of money. With the help of this security deposit, the borrower guarantees a responsible attitude to the repayment of the loan. If the borrower cannot fulfill their obligations, the lender has the right not to return the collateral to them. This option of getting a $15,000 loan is suitable for you if you have bad credit and have money savings.
The cost of a $15,000 personal loan
To calculate the budget correctly and be sure to afford the monthly payment on a future loan, the borrower needs to know how much this loan costs.
The amount of monthly payment depends on the interest rate and loan term. The lower the interest rate and the longer the loan term, the smaller the monthly payment amount you will need to pay. A personal loan calculator can help you calculate the exact loan payment amount of your loan. Usually, personal loan lenders offer loans with APR from 5% to 36% and loan terms from 2 to 7 years.
Before signing a loan agreement, examine whether the lender has any hidden fees. Among these fees can be:
Origination fees are one-time payments. Usually, the amount is from 1% to 5% of the loan amount.
Prepayment fees. Prepayment penalties are a fee for early payoff. The amount of such a fee can vary depending on the lender.
Best lenders do not require payment of these fees. If your lender specifies some of these fees in the loan agreement, then you need to take them into account when calculating how much the loan costs.
