What is Gap Financing?
Many people often refer to gap financing as bridge financing, a type that doesn’t require collateral such as savings accounts, vehicles, or homes. It is only backed by the client’s creditworthiness and a word to pay the debt. Gap financing holds a higher fee to the client and is used to fulfill short-term money flow needs.
What is a Personal Loan
A personal loan is a common type of Gap funding, also known as an Unsecured loan. A client should typically repay the loan in fixed payments (monthly) over a specified period – usually between two and five years. Personal loans are offered by online lenders, credit unions, and banks.
Personal loans are commonly used for:
- Refinancing a credit card;
- Debt Consolidation;
- Business Expenses;
- Vehicle Purchases;
- Home Improvements;
- Moving Expenses;
- Medical Expenses;
- Vacations;
- Wedding Expenses…
Pros of personal loans
- There is no need for appraising or offering an asset such as a car or a house;
- You typically wait only a couple of minutes for approval;
- Funds are typically deposited to your account the next day (or the next business day); a
- Your belongings won’t be repossessed if you are unable to finish repaying your loan;
- Typically have fixed rates – they won’t change as long as the loan lives.
Cons of personal loans
- They usually require high credit scores to gain permission, as the lenders need some security;
- Could come at increased interest rates;
- The authorization process primarily depends on the borrower’s credit profile, like history and score;
- If you fail to repay your debt, your credit score can be impacted severely, while your lender could send your obligation to an agency or a collector.
How to avail of an unsecured loan?
Every lender has varying credentials you will need to meet to be authorized for the loan. Yet, there are a couple of ordinary cords that numerous lenders tend to follow.
- You will have a greater chance of approval the higher your credit score is; with a higher credit score, you will also have a more effortless time qualifying for the lower APR rates with your lender. As the lender only has your word for repaying the debt, your repayment history and score mainly define potential APRs and eligibility.
- Try comparing several lenders’ rates before deciding on a certain loan. Lenders offer amounts, rates, and terms based on your credit score, annual income, and debt-to-income ratio.
- While you take your time choosing between lenders, try comparing offers by inspecting if you prequalify for obtaining an unsecured loan. Numerous lenders will offer pre-qualification favors to determine if you can qualify for a loan without a hard-credit-check.
Interest rates for unsecured loans
Interest rates for personal loans could differ widely – this depends on the borrower’s credit rating and the terms of the loan, such as length and amount. Many unsecured loan lenders demand their borrowers to maintain a good credit score (over 661). Your chances are going to be considerably lower if your credit score is 660 or less or if you have a record of missed charges, charge-offs by lenders, or debt collections.
Consumers with good credit can avail a low-interest-rate personal loan. Still, bad-credit applicants will have difficulty qualifying for a personal loan — if they even receive offers.
If you happen to have bad credit, you can nevertheless be competent to find a respected provider for an unsecured loan.
Look for lenders promoting unsecured loans with no credit check or bad credit scores. These will probably be payday loans – they have high-interest rates and short payment terms.
Average best APR offer by credit score
Credit Band | Credit Score | APR |
Excellent | 760+ | 8.83% |
Very Good | 720 – 759 | 12.95% |
Good | 680 – 719 | 17.54% |
Bad | 640 – 679 | 22.74% |
What if you get rejected?
Find a co-signer. If your credit score is less than ideal, lenders could be more willing to approve your loan (or offer better terms) if you come with a cosigner.
Apply for a secured loan. Secured loans demand you to guarantee to pay off your debt with an asset you own as collateral.
Boost your credit, and try to reapply. The LendingTree app allows you to check and observe your credit score.
Unsecured loan alternatives
Although unsecured loans could offer some financial relief to the borrower, it is not a one-size-fits-all key. If you are unsure whether this is the best option, you could consider some alternative options.
A personal line of credit
A personal line of credit is a revolving account that permits you to lend a certain amount of money and repay it over some time. You don’t have to get the whole lump amount at once; instead, you can decide on the amount you’d like to borrow – interest shall be charged only on the amount you borrow. It doesn’t come with specified rates as personal loans, so your fees can alter monthly.
Credit cards with 0% APR intro
When using a credit card, you usually have some interest to pay (if you do not pay off the credit prior to the due date). Nevertheless, numerous organizations offer 0% intro-credit-card promotions in order to get more borrowers. This way, clients can bypass bearing interest on the purchases even on the due date for payment. Regardless, the 0% APR typically lasts for a short period and can last between 12 and 21 months.
Home equity
A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is also a revolving type. The difference between the HELOC and a personal line of credit is that the HELOC is conditional on the client’s home equity. After buying a house, you’ll garner equity as you pay it off. With the HELOC, the amount of money you borrow will depend on the equity. This type of credit also doesn’t usually have fixed rates – the rates will usually rise or fall depending on the financial market.
Explore Gap Financing Further and Access Through Easy Lending USA
For a more detailed understanding of gap financing, you can explore the Gap Financing Wikipedia page.
One avenue for accessing gap financing is through Easy Lending USA, which facilitates a straightforward process for obtaining such funds.