Looking for a personal loan in South Florida? Look here to find the best places to get a personal loan for your lifestyle.
Everyone has big life goals at some point in their life. Whether it’s to have a baby, go to university, or purchase a nice car, many milestones take a hefty financial commitment.
While you can certainly save up for years, a personal loan can help that process along. Debt isn’t always a bad thing, especially if it fast tracks your life to what’s important.
If you need some extra money, here are 3 of the best places to get a personal loan in South Florida. But first, we discuss what a personal loan is.
What Is a Personal Loan?
A personal loan is money you borrow from an institution for personal use. To pay it back, you usually pay monthly over a period of a few years; most people have a repayment period of around 2 to 5 years.
When you sign a loan, there’s an interest rate (or APR) attached to it. This is additional money you have to repay on top of your loan amount.
APRs can range anywhere from 6% to 36%. The interest rate you sign on with depends on how good your credit is; the better it is, the better your chances of getting a lower rate.
Unsecured vs Secured Personal Loans
Personal loans can be unsecured or secured. Some also allow you to borrow with a co-signer if your credit isn’t good enough.
An unsecured loan is one where you don’t need collateral. Because of the risk involved with this type of personal loan, interest rates are typically higher. If you can’t pay back your loan, there’s no collateral for the lender to take.
A secured loan is where you borrow money and put up collateral; most people use their vehicles. You can get lower interest rates with secured personal loans, but if you can’t pay the amount back, the lender takes the collateral you’ve put up.
When you compare the two, you can usually borrow a higher amount with a secured personal loan. Next, we’ll discuss the 3 places you can get a personal loan at.
- Banks
Naturally, the first place you should turn to for a personal loan is your bank. You’re familiar with how they run their institution and some may even offer generous interest rates for existing customers.
If you have good credit, then borrowing from your bank is an excellent option. Banks will offer better terms and APRs for those who have built up their credit. Many also offer the option to apply online, which means you won’t have to travel to a physical branch.
If, however, you have no credit, or it’s poor, it may be harder to borrow money from a bank. This is because you may not even qualify for their terms. And even if you do, the interest rates may be so high they’re not worth it.
- Credit Unions
For those of you who don’t have a bank account, or can’t qualify for personal loans with them, the next option would be credit unions. Here, you can often find lower interest rates and a lot of them are willing to work with borrowers who have credit scores that aren’t so great.
A downside is many credit unions require you to be a member in order to borrow money from them. Also, you can’t apply on their websites with some. You’ll have to visit the branch in person to apply for your loan.
Another potential downside is you may not be able to borrow as large an amount as you could with a bank. This could be an issue if you’re trying to make a large purchase but the credit union loan isn’t enough to cover it.
- Online
Your third option for obtaining a personal loan is with online lenders. This can be very convenient since you can do all your research from the comfort of your own home.
At first glance, it may seem like online lenders have absurdly high interest rates. But you have to look around to get the best APR possible. Once you’ve done some searching, you’ll find that interest rates are actually very competitive.
Borrowing from an online lender can be a viable option since they don’t have as stringent credit requirements as banks and credit unions do. Plus, they tend to disburse the loan amounts quicker too. We spoke to FastLoanUK, a reliable direct lender in the UK – they deposit the money into the borrower’s account within a couple of hours after the application is approved. So if you need quick cash, and you don’t have the best credit possible, online personal loans may be right for you.
Tips for Personal Loans
If you’re looking for the best personal loans, there’s no single, right solution for everyone. The main thing to remember is you shouldn’t just take the first loan you’re approved for. In fact, you shouldn’t even apply for a loan until you’ve explored all your options.
While you may think you’re getting an amazing interest rate on one personal loan, you might be able to find one that’s even better. Even if you need money in the immediate future, it’s still worth taking a little bit of time to search. It can mean the difference between hefty and easy to make payments.
Get a Personal Loan in South Florida Easily
You have plenty of options when it comes to getting a personal loan in South Florida. Take time to research every avenue and make a list of pros and cons for each.
Also, sit down with your family and close friends to discuss your options. They can be your second set of eyes and let you know if you’ve missed any crucial details.
Once you’re ready, then send off your applications. You should then be able to secure funds for whatever it is you wish to achieve in life!
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