Do personal loans hurt your credit?
Does a personal loan hurt your credit score? Your credit score can dip a few points when you formally apply for a personal loan, but missed payments can cause a more significant drop. Getting a personal loan will also increase the amount of debt you owe, which is one of the factors that make up your credit score.
A personal loan can affect your credit score in a number of ways—both good and bad. Taking out a personal loan isn't bad for your credit score in and of itself. However, it may affect your overall score for the short term and make it more difficult for you to obtain additional credit before that new loan is paid back.
Hard credit checks temporarily lower your credit score by as much as 10 points. If you have excellent credit, applying for a loan will most likely make your score drop by five points or less.
Yes, getting a personal loan before buying a house can impact your mortgage application. Any debt you have listed on your credit reports can affect your ability to get a mortgage loan.
You will need a credit score of 580 or higher to get a $30,000 personal loan in most cases, along with enough income to afford the monthly bill payments. Other common loan requirements include being at least 18 years old, being a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident, and having a valid bank account.
Fees and penalties can be high
Personal loans may come with fees and penalties that can drive up the cost of borrowing. Some loans come with origination fees of 1 percent to 6 percent of the loan amount.
Personal loans can be a great way to consolidate credit card debt and get a lower interest rate. Credit card debt can quickly turn into a cycle of never-ending payments. Thankfully, there are several solutions if you're looking to get ahead of your debt and pay it off faster.
Yes, paying off a personal loan early could temporarily have a negative impact on your credit scores. But any dip in your credit scores will likely be temporary and minor. And it might be worth balancing that risk against the possible benefits of paying off your personal loan early.
And much like with any other loan, mortgage, or credit card application, applying for a personal loan can cause a slight dip in your credit score. This is because lenders will run a hard inquiry on your credit, and every time a hard inquiry is pulled, it shows up on your credit report and your score drops a bit.
The good news is yes, usually you can. If you receive a cash windfall, using the money to clear debt ahead of schedule can save on interest. And your credit score may improve as you lower the amount of debt you're carrying relative to your income.
Is it better to go through a bank or lender for personal loan?
Since the process of getting a bank loan is more rigorous, banks are typically able to offer lower interest rates and sometimes provide perks for existing customers. Online lenders are less regulated than banks, allowing faster application processes and more lenient eligibility requirements.
- Taking out a longer loan than necessary.
- Not shopping around for the best offers.
- Not considering your credit score.
- Overlooking fees and penalties.
- Not reading the fine print.
While personal loans may be helpful in several situations, they can also come with high interest rates and major repercussions for your credit score. Even so, the benefits of these loans may outweigh the risks—especially if you qualify for a competitive rate and need quick access to cash.
Personal loan requirements vary, but generally, lenders consider applicants with a credit score below 640 as risky. You could still be eligible for a personal loan if your score is lower than this, but you're likely to be slapped with a steep APR.
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| Loan Amount | Loan Term (Years) | Estimated Fixed Monthly Payment* |
|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | 5 | $514.57 |
| $30,000 | 3 | $926.18 |
| $30,000 | 5 | $608.15 |
| $35,000 | 3 | $1080.54 |
You should avoid using a personal loan to pay for college tuition, investments, basic living expenses, vacation, discretionary purchases and gambling, as well as a down payment and the costs associated with starting a business.
And that's fine -- as long as you keep up with the monthly payments as agreed. If it's an unsecured personal loan (meaning no collateral was involved), most lenders don't care what you do with the funds. However, a debt consolidation loan is an exception, because it was granted for a specific purpose.
Making late payments
The late payment remains even if you pay the past-due balance. Your payment history may be a primary factor in determining your credit scores, depending on the credit scoring model (the way scores are calculated) used. Late payments can negatively impact credit scores.
Debt-to-income ratio is your monthly debt obligations compared to your gross monthly income (before taxes), expressed as a percentage. A good debt-to-income ratio is less than or equal to 36%. Any debt-to-income ratio above 43% is considered to be too much debt.
Can I take out a personal loan to pay off credit cards?
Taking out a personal loan for credit card debt can help you solve many of these problems. You can use your personal loan to pay off your credit card debt in full — and since personal loans sometimes have lower interest rates than credit cards, you might even save money in interest charges over time.
While paying down high-interest debt will help you reduce the amount of interest you owe, not having an emergency fund can put you deeper in the red when you have to cover an unexpected expense. “Regardless of [your] debt amount, it's critical that you have money set aside for a rainy day,” Griffin said.
As someone with a 650 credit score, you are firmly in the “fair” territory of credit. You can usually qualify for financial products like a mortgage or car loan, but you will likely pay higher interest rates than someone with a better credit score. The "good" credit range starts at 690.
Some lenders may charge a prepayment penalty of up to 2% of the loan's outstanding balance if you decide to pay off your loan ahead of schedule. Additionally, paying off your loan early will strip you of some of the credit benefits that come with making on-time monthly payments.
You can pay off a personal loan faster by putting a lump sum of extra money toward the principal, paying extra each month, or making biweekly payments instead of monthly payments, among other strategies.
