Have you been kicking around the idea of taking out a personal installment loan? This has become one of the most popular types of loans among Americans looking for financial relief.
According to a recent report, more than half of American adults have taken out at least one personal loan. That works out to be about 130 million people in total who have chosen personal loan options.
Applying for a loan like this might be in your best interest. But before you put in an application for a personal installment loan, there are some things you should know about doing it. You should learn all about them before getting a loan and beginning to pay it back.
In this article, we’re going to talk about a handful of things you’ll need to know prior to applying for a personal installment loan. Discover more about personal installment loans below and then start applying for one.
What Is a Personal Installment Loan?
A personal installment loan, also known as a personal loan, is one of the most common types of loans available these days. A big part of the reason why these loan options have become so popular is because of how simple it is to understand what they are.
When you apply for a personal installment loan, you’ll be able to ask for whatever amount of money you need to borrow. You’ll then be able to repay this loan over a certain period of time, though it’s worth noting that most personal installment loans are short-term loans as opposed to long-term ones.
More often than not, you won’t need to put up any collateral to take out a personal installment loan. But you might need to do it if you take out a specific type of personal installment loan, such as a title installment loan.
Either way, a personal installment loan can be used for almost anything you want. From car repair costs to medical bills, you’ll be able to utilize a personal loan to help keep your financial situation on the right track.
How Do Personal Installment Loans Work?
If you’re interested in trying to take out a personal installment loan, you should know how these loans work. We just provided you with a very basic overview of what a personal loan is, but you should dig a little deeper into how they work so that you’re prepared for the process.
Here is how personal installment loans work:
- You find a reputable lender that specializes in providing personal installment loans
- You apply for a personal installment loan through this lender
- You find out how much money you’ll be eligible to borrow with a personal installment loan
- You agree to the terms attached to a personal installment loan
- You have a personal installment loan deposited directly into your bank account and spend it as you wish
From there, the only thing left to do will be to work toward repaying a personal loan. You’ll often be able to choose how long you’ll take to repay this loan based on how much you can afford to pay back on a monthly basis.
What Are the Benefits of Personal Installment Loans?
People have come to love personal installment loans for more than just the simple fact that they’re easy to understand. They’ve also come to appreciate all the benefits of taking out personal installment loans.
So, what are some of these benefits? Check them out here:
- They’ll help you get your hands on the cash you need right now, fast
- They’ll provide you with very straightforward repayment terms
- They’ll allow you to spend the cash you receive on whatever you would like
- They’ll give you some breathing room in a financial sense and prevent your finances from overwhelming you
- They’ll let you spread out your payments over however many months you would like
There are also benefits that’ll come along with other loan options. But you typically won’t find many other types of loans that will provide you with all the benefits of taking out a personal installment loan.
Where Can You Apply for a Personal Loan?
Recent reports have revealed that more than 50% of American adults wouldn’t be able to cover a $1,000 emergency cost right now. If, say, their car broke down and they needed to spend $1,000 to get it fixed, they wouldn’t have enough cash on hand to make the necessary repairs.
For this reason, you’re going to find that there won’t be any shortage of options available when you start looking for personal loan lenders. With so many people opting to take out personal loans nowadays, these lenders are popping up all over the place and offering their services.
Google “personal installment loans near me,” and you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how many options you’ll have for lenders. You can sift through the options to see which lender seems like the best choice for you.
Who Should You Trust to Provide You With a Personal Loan?
While searching for “personal installment loans near me” will provide you with a long list of options, the last thing you want to do is simply select the first lender you can find and go with them. You might be asking for trouble if you apply for a personal loan through a lender like this.
Instead, you should do some research on all the different lenders you’re able to find to make sure you pick the best lender of the bunch. You’ll want to work with a lender who has the following qualities:
- Experienced
- Knowledgable
- Reputable
- Trustworthy
- Reliable
The lender you settle on should also offer an easy personal loan application process as well as some of the very best customer service around. It’ll make applying for a personal installment loan so much less stressful than it would be otherwise.
What Is the Process for Applying for a Personal Loan?
Every individual personal loan lender is going to have a slightly different application process in place. You’ll need to check to see what a specific lender will require you to do when applying for a personal installment loan.
But generally speaking, most lenders will make you go through an application process for a personal installment loan that’ll look something like this:
- You provide a lender with basic personal information, including your name, address, employment status, income, expenses, etc.
- You agree to let a lender run a credit check on you, if necessary (not all lenders will ask you for this!)
- You learn how much money you’re eligible to borrow
- You read through the different repayment options available to you
- You agree to the terms for a personal installment loan and receive the cash you requested
Again, not every lender will put you through this same exact process. But the application process will look something like this. It should be a quick and easy process that won’t be painful at all for you.
What Do You Need to Qualify for a Personal Loan?
Not every lender is going to have the same requirements in place for those applying for personal installment loans. But there will usually be at least a few boxes that you’ll have to check to qualify for a personal loan.
For example, you might need to be able to prove that you’re currently employed and that you have the means to pay back a personal loan. You might also need to let a lender know about any expenses you have that will cut into your monthly income.
As we alluded to a moment ago, you may also need to let a lender run a credit check on you to see where your credit score lands. And if you’re taking out something like a title installment loan, having the title for your vehicle will be a must.
How Long Do You Have to Pay Back a Personal Loan?
The total amount of time that you’ll have to repay a personal installment loan will depend on the terms of your loan. Every lender will take a slightly different approach to how they ask people to repay personal loans.
As we’ve mentioned, personal installment loans are often short-term loans that will need to be paid back within about a year, if not sooner. But there are also some personal loan lenders that’ll give you longer than that to pay back a loan.
Whatever the case, you will need to be sure to pick out a repayment plan that you know you can afford. It’ll enable you to repay a personal loan in the amount of time that you and a lender both agree to at the beginning.
What Happens If You Default on a Personal Loan?
If you agree to take out a personal loan, it’ll be imperative that you come up with a realistic repayment plan for it. You don’t want to put yourself in a position where you end up defaulting on a personal loan.
If you do default on a personal loan, it could lead to any number of consequences. Initially, you might find that debt collectors will be sent to try to track you down and get you to pay back your personal loan.
There is also always a chance that a personal loan lender might decide to take you to court. They’ll sometimes do this if you refuse to respond to their requests for payment.
You might lose whatever it was that you chose to put up as collateral if you default on a personal loan. If you decide to go with a title loan and use your vehicle as collateral, you might not be able to keep your car for much longer.
And of course, defaulting on a personal installment loan is something that could prevent you from being able to get another loan in the future. This might be one of the biggest reasons why you should stay on top of repaying a personal loan as best you can.
Should You Apply for a Personal Loan?
At the end of the day, only you can decide if a personal loan would be right for you. It’s one of the many loan options you’ll have, so you shouldn’t shy away from considering other types of loans, too, when you know you’re going to need one.
But most people find that a personal installment loan will work well for them. It’ll be very easy to apply for this type of loan, and it’ll set them up with all the money they’ll need to cover whichever costs they might be facing.
If you think a personal loan might be the right option for you, Quick Loans would love to talk to you more about applying for one. We can set you up with a personal installment loan or a title installment loan in no time. It’ll allow you to take full advantage of all the benefits of personal loans without forcing you to jump through too many hoops while applying for a loan.
Contact Us for More Information on Personal Installment Loans
At Quick Loans, we make it our mission to provide people with the personal loans and title loans they need in Missouri. If you live in the 65801 area, we would be more than happy to discuss your loan options with you further.
We can also answer any lingering questions you might have about applying for a personal installment loan. It’ll help to put your mind at ease as you work your way toward taking out one of these types of loans.
Reach out to us now to speak with a representative about our loan options.