1. Determine how much money you need

Before approaching a lender for a personal loan, it is important to have an idea of your goals as well as the amount of money you need. You might be looking to achieve a wide variety of ends with the personal loan including paying medical bills, financing a home improvement or even funding a dream wedding. This goal needs to be clear in your mind as well as how you will spend the money.

2. Work on your creditworthiness

When applying for a personal loan, you want to make sure that your credit rating is at the maximum level that your financial history allows. Your credit score tells lenders how risky of a borrower you are, so if your credit score is low, you are likely to get a lower amount and be charged higher interest. You can get a copy of your credit report from most credit bureaus, after which you need to review it to ensure there are no errors. Next, if your score is not at the level you would like, you might want to consider making some payments on outstanding debt as this will likely raise your score by a few points once it goes on your report.

3. Find and weigh different packages

Different lenders have different repayment terms. The interest rate charged on the loan is the most important item that you should concern yourself with. The higher the APR (annual percentage rate) charged on the interest rate, the higher the amount you will have to pay back. In this stage, you need to do extensive research to gather data on a vast variety of loan offerings from different institutions. In addition to online research, you can have different banks do a soft check on your credit report so that they can give you feedback on the amount in personal loan that you qualify for. Note that a soft credit check does not affect your credit score in any way unlike a hard check. You then need to diligently calculate the monthly and final payment obligations that each package will require of you and from that information you can choose the most attractive package.

4. Consider Secured or Cosigned Options

If your credit rating is not as high as you would like, you may find that getting a cosigner or attaching an asset such as property or automobile will allow you to negotiate a lower interest rate from the bank. Since personal loans are usually unsecured, banks tend to charge higher interest rates than say mortgages or car loans to protect their profit margins themselves from defaulting borrowers.

5. Gather your documents Apply for a loan of your choice

Before you get a loan approval, the bank will need comprehensive information about you. This is presented to them in the form of documents such as state-issued ID, property titles and bank statements. You will therefore need to get all of the requisite documents and information in accurate and updated form ready for submission to the bank. The bank will dictate the documents and information that they need from you during the application process. Remember that when you formally apply for a loan, the bank will trigger a hard check on your credit report, and this automatically shaves off a few points off your score. For this reason, you should only make the application when you are sure about the choice of loan package that you want. It is particularly detrimental to apply to many banks at the same time as each hard credit check will lower your credit rating.

Resources:

1. https://www.creditkarma.com/credit-cards/i/what-is-fico-score/
2. https://www.fool.com/the-ascent/personal-loans/articles/5-steps-to-getting-a-low-interest-personal-loan/
3. https://www.moneylion.com/learn/low-interest-personal-loans/
4. https://www.wikihow.com/Get-a-Low-APR-Personal-Loan