There are still options for bad credit high risk loans in the Los Angeles area when your credit score is under 590. The interest rate on bad credit loan offers could be very high and the length of the loan can be very short which makes the monthly payment higher. We recommend that you look at your debt to income before accepting any loan to be sure you can afford the additional cost every month.
Unsecured Personal Loan or Signature Loan
An unsecured loan or a signature loan is an installment loan that only requires a signature by the borrower. It does not require collateral or assets to secure the loan. You qualify for an unsecured loan based on your credit score, credit history, employment status, and income.
Bad Credit Unsecured Personal Loan from $500 to $5,000
If your credit score is under 590, we have found that lenders will not offer unsecured personal loans over $5000. If you require a loan for more than $5,000, you will require collateral/security or a co-signer.
We work with many companies that offer bad credit loans and most of them would be considered a loan aggregator. The loan managers go out to as many lenders as they can and request them to look at bad credit loan applications when they receive them. After you have submitted your application, you will start receiving loan offers. These will include providers that offer expensive payday loans and hopefully will include standard loan offers with acceptable interest rates and terms. The offers you will receive will be dependant on your past history. Any Credit Score Can Apply for this type of loan because they do not pull your credit score. They are looking at your current work history, collections and repossessions.
590+ Credit Score
This bad credit loan information will provide a breakdown by the lender for loans starting at $100 up to $5000 without security or a co-signer. Your ability to qualify will depend on your past history and your current employment
If you can access security or a co-signer, you will have a lot of lending options. The amount will be determined by the equity in your property or the co-signers credit.
Loan Provider That Accepts a Co-signer
Loan Amount By Credit Score
The loan amounts offered by credit score break down differently with every lender. While credit scores differ slightly with each lender, but this is a simple guideline. Your work history and education will also be considered by many lenders.
- Under 590 $500 to $5000
- 590+ $1000 to 25,000
- 640+ $1000 to $50,000
- 660+ $5000 to $100,000
Bad Credit Unsecured Personal Loan from $500 to $5,000
Here is a link to a recommended provider for a loan up to $5,000 with bad credit. If you have collections or repossessions, we recommend that you read on. If you do not, then this will be a good option for you.
Do you Have Outstanding Collections or Repossessions?
If you have recent collections or repossessions on your credit history, we would suggest you save yourself the time and do not apply for a loan until you have taken the time to work with the collections or repossession company. Even a co-signer may not help with collections and you may need to borrow money from a friend or family member.
Bad Credit Loan Providers in Los Angeles
Credit Card Hardship Payment Plans
If your finances are in crisis mode and you are going to miss a payment contact your credit card company and ask to speak with their hardship program department.
Make sure to ask the hardship department how they will manage your account with the three credit bureaus and if it will affect your credit score. If you are missing a payment or about to miss a payment, that will definitely affect your credit score. It is important for you to know what going to happen to your credit score when you sign up.
We’ve found the following information on hardship programs.
- Your credit card access may be stopped. You will want to ask them to only stop usage and not completely close out the credit card as this will affect your credit score with credit utilization and credit history.
- The way the FICO credit score system is designed, canceling this card will affect your credit history if this is an older credit card and removing the available credit may harm your credit utilization percentage. If you can, ask the credit card company to place the card on hold
- If you have gone for many months without making payments, you may not have an option with the credit card company. They may suspend your card and send your account to collections. Contact the credit card provider well before this happens and set up terms.
- The hardship plan or credit card payment plan will provide you a restructured payment to lower the monthly payment to a payment that you can manage
If you can stick to the new plan and get this card back on track, your credit score will increase quickly and you will not have a strike on your credit score.
This is a better option than allowing the credit card to go to collections. If any items go to collections the credit card company removes you from their accounts and now the collections company will start calling you. At this point you are no longer dealing with the credit card company, the credit card provider has transferred your debt and written you off as a customer.
Credit card Already Sent to Collections?
If you ever been sent to collections you will know what the term “charged off” means. If the loan has been “Charged Off,” this is the credit card companies way of saying that they have written off the account. In most cases, they will transfer this account to a collections agency.
On your credit report, the credit card company will show the payment status as “charged off.” When the collections company is assigned to your account, your credit report will show where your debt was transferred.
Charge offs are very damaging to your credit score and will remain on your credit report for the next 7 years from the date it was transferred.
If you are in a position to pay off a charged off account with the collections company, your credit report will be updated to “Paid Collection.” Trying to go back to the original lender will not help change the status of your account. tot is very important to get this debt settled with the collection company and have your file updated to “Paid Collection.” The credit report will show $0.00 outstanding and start to improve.
Debt Settlement
If your credit score is below 500 and you have over $7,500 in debt, you may want to look into debt settlement. You are at a point where you really cannot damage your credit score any further, but you can work through a process to clean up your past. The issue with debt settlement providers is that they will charge you a fee of roughly 30-40%. If you can manage debt settlement yourself, you can get out of debt faster with the money that you would have given the debt settlement provider.
If you have the ability to save money and set it aside, you can do this on your own. Pool cash together then call a creditor with an amount you are willing to pay. Tell them that if they will settle for this amount that you have saved, you will pay today. You must be prepared ot pay when you call and request the amount that they may settle on. You need to make sure that you are fully released from the debt. Do not pay them unless they to offer a reasonable percentage of the amount owing.
If you are not able to talk to the creditors and need help, debt settlement may be your only option.
Payday Alternative Loans (PAL’s)
The credit unions have developed a program called PAL’s to help people stuck in revolving payday loans. The credit union will want you to become a member for a few months before this program can be implemented.
PAL’s features:
- Loan amounts $200 to $1,000.
- Must be a member for one month
- Loan terms range from 1 to 6 months
- There may be a fee for setting up the application of $20.00
Check with the credit union for all of the requirements.
(see references at the bottom of this page)
After you have gone through this process and all of the lenders are paid off, you will be starting over. You should start with a secured credit card.
Secured Credit Card
If you have bad credit, finding a credit card can be very difficult. There are two different products on the market, one is a debit card and the other is a secured credit card. Both cards serve a purpose and depending on what you are looking for here are the pros and cons of each product.
A prepaid card or debit card is simply used with the amount of cash you place on the card. This can be an excellent choice if you are trying to stop spending. You can take out a cash advance at many retailers without paying a fee and it stops any forms of new debt.
A secured credit card is a credit card that you place cash on the card and the money is placed into a security deposit account. Your credit line amount is usually the amount that you’ve deposited and it may be possible that the credit card issuer will offer you a small credit limit. This is the start of building credit. You can spend the amount on the card. It’s the start of what the credit bureaus consider healthy spending habits and it will start increasing your credit score. Most credit card providers report secured cards to the credit bureaus.
The key to a successfully secured card is keeping the balance low. Your credit limit will be small and your goal should be to keep the balance of use at 15% to 25% of your available credit. With a $400 limit, you want your balance at around $80.00 or less. If you want to book a trip on your card, you can load cash on the card and then pay it off before the lenders reporting period.
Credit Score Management
You can pull your credit score once a year for free. Go through your credit report carefully and make sure that all of the information is correct. Here is a link to your free annual credit report.
Credit Score Errors
If you have errors on this report and need some help with repairing the problem, there is help from companies like Lexington Law. They will help you challenge the errors on your credit report. You can also file a dispute yourself. Here is the contact link information to the Federal Government site.
Don’t Apply Everywhere
If you have submitted a loan application to many companies, the credit bureaus may or may not see your attempts. It will depend on whether it was a hard pull (inquiry) or soft pull (inquiry).
Hard Inquiry
A hard inquiry means that the lender has gone into your credit file and researched your past history. This inquiry is visible to every lender for up to 2 years. Transunion says “it’s a good idea to limit the number of hard inquiries you make. A typical hard inquiry could knock up to five points off a credit score.”
Soft Inquiry
A soft inquiry is a lender looking at your current credit score. Lenders see that someone has a 780 credit score and may not even require a hard pull. If the lender sees a 300 to 650 credit score, they will want to see how that happened and ask you for a hard pull. If you check your own credit score, it is considered a soft inquiry. If you are applying to rent an apartment or looking for a job, they may do a soft pull to see how you manage your credit.
How Long Will These Inquires Stay On My Credit Report?
Hard and soft inquiries will be shown on your credit report for up to 2 years. The hard inquiry if you were turned down by the lender, will affect your credit score for up to one year.
Find Out if the lender Is completing A Hard Pull
Before you apply for any loan, make sure the lender is only completing a soft pull or soft inquiry to start the process. You need to give the lender permission to complete a hard pull/inquiry.
Batching Loan Applications
The credit bureaus see us searching for a mortgage, auto loans, and personal loan interest rate shopping over a 45 day period as “smart consumer shopping”. All of the applications will be treated as one pull. In some cases, it will not show on your credit report for the first 30 days. This reporting time will vary from 2 weeks to 45 days. This will apply to mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans.
Credit Card Applications
Credit card applications are treated individually and will drop your credit score with every application.
Secured Personal Loans
A secured personal loan is a loan where you have taken your home, auto, land or inheritance and allowed a lender to lien or secure the loan against your assets. In most cases, you will receive a much better interest rate with a secured loan over an unsecured loan. Here are a few links from a provider that offers secured loans against your home or secured loans against your automobile.
Credit Union Locations in Los Angeles
Bank Locations in Los Angeles
Bad Credit Loan Locations in Los Angeles
Payday Loan Consumer information from the Government of California
If you’re interested in learning about the rules and laws on usury in California, we have provided you with some links below in the reference section. If you are planning on challenging your lender or require some direction, there are many attorneys that specialize in this field.
Filing a Complaint with the DBO in California
The Department of Business Oversight (DBO) encourages financial services, consumers, to submit complaints if they believe a DBO licensee has violated state law or acted improperly, or if they believe a company or person is conducting an unlicensed activity that falls within the DBO’s jurisdiction.
