Where Do I Find Loans With No Credit Check?
Shopping for a personal loan with bad credit or no credit? If so, you may be wondering whether it is possible to get around credit requirements entirely by applying for loans with no credit check. While this may sound like a great idea in theory, in practice if not the best approach. Thankfully, it is still possible to get the financing you need even with poor credit. Let’s delve into this topic in-depth.
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Reputable Lenders Do Perform Credit Checks
The reason you cannot get around credit checks entirely is because reputable lenders follow responsible borrowing practices. Assessing the risk you present as a borrower is part of conforming to those practices. Your credit score is a numerical way of representing your level of risk.
Indeed, if you see lenders promoting their services with slogans like, “online loans, no credit check required,” that may be a sign that they are not operating in a responsible way. Avoiding these types of lenders is wise.
Bad Credit Doesn’t Have to Stop You From Getting a Loan
Does this mean that if you have poor credit, there is no hope of getting a loan? No. There are a couple of ways you can still obtain the financing you require. You can try applying for either a secured or unsecured personal loan online.
- A secured loan requires you to put up collateral such as your car title or another valuable.
- An unsecured loan has no collateral requirement.
Applying for a secured loan can mean more flexible approval where your credit score is concerned. But there are also quite a few reputable online lenders that are willing to consider extending unsecured loans to customers with bad credit.
Along with unsecured personal loans, you can also think about applying for installment loans or payday loans. Each is ideal for a different set of circumstances and financial needs. Unless the amount you need to borrow is quite small, however, a personal loan or installment loan is a more suitable choice than a payday loan. These types of loans also give you far more time to pay back the amount you borrow.
Why Your Credit Score Matters When Applying for a Personal Loan
If poor credit will not disqualify you automatically from receiving a loan, you may wonder why it is beneficial to have a high credit score in the first place. There are a couple of reasons:
- The amount which you can borrow is going to be contingent in part upon your credit score. Customers with higher credit scores may be offered larger loans.
- Your credit score will significantly impact the interest rates you are quoted when you apply for a loan. The higher your credit score, the less expensive your loan will be.
So if you have even a short time in which to try and boost your credit score, it is worth doing what you can before you apply for a personal loan. Take note that there are lenders which only use income to make lending decisions, even if they look at your credit score. You might considering using one of these if you know that your score is very low. It’s the closest thing to guaranteed approval loans.
What is a “Hard” Credit Check vs. a “Soft” Credit Check?
Instead of searching for “personal loans no credit check,” what you should be looking for is a lender which performs a “soft” credit check, also called an “alternative” credit check. This can be contrasted with what is referred to as a “hard” credit check. Here’s the difference between these two types of credit checks:
- When a lender performs a hard credit check, it has an adverse effect on your credit score. Applying for a lot of loans within a short time period using hard credit checks can significantly damage your score, making it even more difficult to qualify for a competitive loan. Many consumers are aware of this, which is why in part they are so leery of credit checks in the first place.
- A soft credit check provides a lender with the information they need to make a decision about extending you a loan offer. The difference is that there is zero adverse effect on your credit score with this type of credit check.
You can apply for as many loans as you want through lenders who make use of soft credit checks, and you should not see any decline in your credit score. This means that you can search around for the most competitive loan offers.
When you do eventually accept a loan offer, a lender which relies on soft checks initially may run a hard credit check as part of the finalization process. This should not be an issue, however, since you will then be set up with your loan. As you make timely payments on it, your credit score should increase. This should more than make up for the temporary hit from the hard credit check.
How Can You Find Out Your Own Credit Score?
You now know why searching for “online loans no credit check” isn’t the best option. But how much do you know about your credit score? You may already know what your credit score is, or you might have no idea. Or perhaps you know the ballpark range, but not the exact number. Naturally, you want to know what lenders are going to see when they pull up your credit score. So how can you find out for yourself what your score currently is?
- Go through your bank or credit union. There are some banks and credit unions which have programs for customers who have signed up for certain credit cards to check their scores for free or for a nominal fee. You may be able to pull up your score in your account right now.
- You can purchase your credit score from Experian, TransUnion or Equifax (the three major credit bureaus), or from FICO. This is a low-cost way to view your score.
- Some private companies monitor credit for customers who are paying for their services. Signing up with one of these companies may be another way to view your credit score. You also may be able to purchase your score through such a company without signing up for long-term service.
There are several benefits to knowing your credit score before you apply for a loan:
- You have some idea of what to expect, and whether this is a good time to apply for financing.
- When you know your credit score, you can evaluate whether you are receiving a fair and competitive loan offer.
- Knowing your credit score helps to empower you to improve it.
What Can You Do to Raise Your Credit Score Before Applying for a Personal Loan Online?
If you do want to raise your credit score before you apply for an online personal loan, here are some recommended steps.
- The first step you should take is to order your credit report from any of the three major bureaus. You are legally entitled to do so for free each year. When you read your report, you can see what went into calculating your FICO score.
- If you find inaccurate items on your credit report, your second step should be to dispute them. Contact both the bureau and the creditor that reported the items to request their removal.
- Sometimes, negative but accurate entries can also be expunged, particularly in “one-off” situations. It is up to the creditor to decide whether to honor such requests.
- If you owe any past due balances, you can be sure that they are having a negative impact on your credit score. Pay off those which you can afford to in order to bump your score back up.
- Get current with your payments and stay current going forward. If you are struggling to manage your existing debts, you should think very hard before taking on new ones.
- Sign up for free products through the credit bureaus like “Experian Boost.” This is an easy way to have your utility and cell phone payments reflected in your credit score. For a lot of customers, this will result in an instant improvement.
- Minimize as little of your credit as you can on an ongoing basis. Pay off your credit card immediately after you use it to make payments. Treat it like cash as much as possible.
- Resist the urge to close old credit accounts, and only open new credit accounts if you actually need them.
- Before you take out any new loans or lines of credit, do the math. Do not rely on guesswork to figure out whether you can afford more debt. Budget ahead.
The faster you tackle all of these tasks, the more swiftly you should see your credit score climb.
Apply For a Personal Loan Now
You do not need to look for no credit check personal loans to find competitive financing even without a perfect credit score. The lenders we recommend run soft credit checks to protect your score, and are willing to extend financing to customers with fair or poor credit. Just click on any of the links in our table of recommendations to apply online instantly.
