Credit ratings are vital in determining your financial debt. It has become almost impossible to get credit approved if you have a poor credit rating, as it determines your ability to repay debts. Therefore, it is necessary to have a good credit rating by paying your debts on time, thereby ensuring no credit card payment delays.
Considering how availing loans with a poor rating is a tedious task, one can question how to get credit with no credit history or with a bad credit rating.
The answer to this question is the credit builder loans. These loans can help diffuse the situation by giving you credit with the least requirements and prerequisites. In short, these loans help you build your credit ratings for the future along with the approved loan.
Let us look at how credit builder loans affect credit ratings.
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What is a Credit Builder Loan?
Credit builder loans are curated to help you get credit without a good credit rating or a credit history. However, a better credit rating certainly helps in easing the loan approval process and getting the loans at a better interest rate long-term. Therefore, good credit score never hurt.
However, you do require an adequate income to pay the loans. Otherwise, the banks and financial institutions become skeptical about providing the loans due to the risk of delayed payments.
Under this loan, the amount borrowed is kept in your account until you make payments as a security deposit. The security amount is frozen so that the lender can take the frozen amount to settle dues in case of debt.
So there are fewer chances of defaulting on a payment as the lender can take away the existing savings. Moreover, this loan helps in building the credit ratings for future transactions.
How to get and manage a Credit Builder loan?
Due to the multiple benefits offered by the credit builder loan, it is in high demand by people in need of credit. However, not many people know how to get a credit builder loan. This article has a step by step guide to follow to get a credit builder loan:
Search for an affordable credit builder loan and apply for it
To search for a suitable credit builder loan, you should know your budget. Generally, exceeding your budget eventually leads to default or delay on payments which is bound to defeat the entire purpose of the loan. It is advisable to choose the loan amount within your income bracket and also for a shorter term as long term loans can cause further stress and delays.
Now the task at hand is to apply for the selected credit builder loan. After this, the money borrowed will be transferred in the savings account for safety. The amount in this account cannot be taken out until the time you repay your debt.
Ensure timely payment every time
As you know, delay in payments can ruin your credit ratings. You must ensure that every payment is made on time. The credit builder loan lenders can send adverse reports to credit agencies if the payments are delayed. If the payments are made on time, it sends a message that you are a responsible borrower and won’t default on the other repayments in the future. Therefore, timely payments are bound to make your future credit journey easier and convenient.
Where to find the credit builder loan?
The process of finding a credit builder loan may sound easy, but it is not the case. The task of searching for an institution that sanctions credit builder loans is tricky. But don’t worry, we have compiled a list of avenues through which you can avail a credit builder loan.
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Credit unions and community banks
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Online lenders
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Commercial banks
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Community Development Financial Institutions
With this list of available options, you can choose and opt for the best one to get a credit builder loan. But, every institution should be well researched before applying for a credit builder loan.
How much does the Credit Builder Loan cost?
The cost of a credit builder loan depends on a multitude of factors. You need to pay attention to specific details like:
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The amount that the lender charges for lending the money, known as the Annual percentage rate (APR). Generally, the APR for credit builder loan is less than 10%
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The interest rate should be disclosed beforehand to avoid last-minute confusion and overestimation of the amount. Along with this, calculate the extra charges and application fees, if any, to avoid additional payments.
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Analyze the maximum or minimum loan amount to decide how big a loan you need as an unnecessarily large loan amount can prove to be too big a burden to handle.
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The tenure of the loan should also be well thought out and kept as short as possible since long tenure loans are difficult to pay off.
Can Credit Builder Loans improve your score?
The effectiveness of credit builder loans to improve your credit ratings depend entirely on you. If you are unable to pay and end up defaulting on the repayment of the credit builder loan, the lender sends a weak report to credit rating agencies or bureaus.
In short, payments made on time can improve your chances. However, if you delay repayment, your credit scores will suffer and hinder your future credit demands. It is a great tool to get a loan and improve your credit ratings.