Monday, September 28, 2009

Can I Still Apply For A Debt Consolidation Loan if I Have Bad Credit?

Borrowers who possess an unenviable bad credit score can be approved for debt consolidation loans. Debt consolidation loans can be either secured or unsecured and they will also quickly improve a credit score.

Do you have a bad credit score and want to improve it?

You can do so very easily by consolidating all your debts into a single debt. This is possible with bad credit debt consolidation loans- a fantastic opportunity for someone with a bad credit score to boost their credit rating and get back on track.

How do bad credit debt consolidation loans repair bad credit score?

This question is often asked and it is one that you may have pondered over also, so I will explain in a little detail. Generally, with debt consolidation loans, a borrower with bad credit can consolidate all his unpaid debts into a single much more manageable debt that would be far more convenient for him to repay and more importantly, the various different interest rates that were being paid on all of his existing debts will inevitably be reduced by having a much lower interest rate on the larger consolidation loan.

Thus there will likely be a much lower monthly repayment, which will help him to maintain regularity to pay the loan amount. And by paying debts regularly, he can easily improve his credit score.

You can apply for a bad credit consolidation loan either in secured or in unsecured form. Like other secured loans, borrowers have to pledge collateral against a secured bad credit debt consolidation loan and can borrow an amount which is calculated on the value of the collateral.

On the other hand, no collateral is required to apply for unsecured bad credit debt consolidation loans, when applying for these loans borrowers have a much greater say in how the loan is structured, shortening the term, or extending it to suite. However they are more difficult to obtain and the interest rate will be higher than that of a secured loan.At the same time, one also has to be aware of his credit score before applying for a bad credit debt consolidation loan. Generally, a credit score is the estimate of a borrower’s financial credit value. The range of a credit score or FICO is normally from 300 to 850. And a credit score, whether it is good or bad is decided on the basis of this range. If one’s credit score is 580 or below, then his credit score is considered to be a bad credit score.

There are several reasons why you may have a poor credit score, like defaulted payments, bankruptcy, arrears etc. So, checking credit scores first of all is very important. There are several credit reporting companies that help borrowers to get a copy of their credit report, but it is wiser to contact the three credit bureaus directly (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) as you are entitled to a free credit report from each, once every twelve months.

Nevertheless, debt consolidation loans are not always the best option for everyone with bad credit. If a borrower’s debt is $10,000 or above, then these loans can be beneficial, less than this and you would probably be better of with an alternative method of consolidation, also if your debt is low interest debt there would be no real benefit in using a debt consolidation loan; for example; consolidating low interest rate loans, like student loans would not be very helpful but for high interest credit card debt it would be quite the opposite!

Debt consolidation loans are a good option for those looking to reduce outgoings and regain control of debt and, for one reason or another, have a bad credit history. But one should always be aware that failure to repay the loan amount, instead of improving a credit score, will in fact make it a whole lot worse not to mention that it will increase a debt burden even further.

Therefore, individuals are advised to check their ability to make repayments at first, and then, once happy that they can afford them, apply for a bad credit debt consolidation loan.


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