Make an overview of your situation
Make sure that you are well aware of your economic situation, and what you will need the money for. Before loaning money you should ask yourself the following questions:
How will you use the money?
You should not borrow money if you truly do not need to. Taking a loan to buy video games, or an expensive designer jacket, is not a good idea.
However, you might have to cover a sudden expense, for example repair costs of a car that broke down, or maybe you want to buy your first residence and need to take out a mortgage. In cases like those, a loan may be the best option.
How much money do you need?
Have a clear purpose with the loan, what amount you will need to fulfill that purpose, and do not borrow more than you need!
Do you have a steady income & will you be able to follow the repayment plan?
Do not sign a loan if you feel insecure about your ability to repay it! If you fail to follow the repayment plan, the consequences could be catastrophic for your economy. Find out how much you will be able to pay off each month and search after loans accordingly.
Reviews & reputation
Always check on the lender's reputation and reviews before loaning money. Pay attention to low amounts of reviews for example. That may indicate that the owner(s) recently owned another business which they shut down because of a bad reputation. Compare to competitors, and analyze the company's age contra the amount of reviews etc. Always gather your information from as many sources as possible, like Facebook, Trustpilot, and Yelp.
Do not be too eager
There are many lenders online that will offer you quick fixes. For people in a vulnerable situation that are in desperate need of fast money, this often appears as very tempting. Sadly, a lot of unserious businesses take advantage of this by offering loans that on a first glance seems too good to be true. And the fact is that in almost every case, it is. They will market things like extremely fast payout, and strategically disguise the reality which contains of hidden fees and ประกันภัย high interest rates, easily unnoticed by someone in desperate need of a fast loan.
So take your time, read through all the information about the loan that you might decide to sign.
Compare loans
Every lender has various loan terms and requirements. Ensure that you compare all the options that you consider applying for. In many countries you can find several websites that are created with the purpose of helping private individuals compare loans.
Use a financial intermediary or not?
Finding the right loans and then comparing them is a time consuming process, and you will probably be overwhelmed by marketing from a lot of different companies. If you feel insecure about how to do your research, or simply do not have the time for it, you could take help from a financial intermediary.
A financial intermediary is basically a middleman between you and the lender. Their job is to make it easy for you to compare loans to each other by presenting a list of the most relevant loans based on the application that you fill in for them.
Benefits
An intermediary will do all the research for you, so you won't have to worry about signing a loan agreement that did not suit your financial situation. You only have to fill and send in your application once, instead of having to do it for every lender or bank that you might want to borrow from. The part where you have to compare loans will be much easier as well, since the intermediary will present the chosen loans different terms and agreements head to head.
Cons
All the different financial intermediaries have their own banks and lenders that they cooperate with, meaning their searching will be limited to those units. That is why it is important to compare all different financial intermediaries, who they work with, and their reputation. Remember to always be cautious when taking a loan and do you research. Better be safe than sorry.
Conclusion
So to sum this all up, the first thing you should take into account is to never be loaning money for unnecessary expenses, and never borrow a higher amount than what you actually need. If you decide to sign a loan agreement, make sure that you will be able to follow the repayment plan. Fully examine the reputation of each and every company that you consider choosing, and do not be too eager to sign something that looks good at a first glance! When you have found one or more loans that seem to match your criterias, compare them with others.
In case you are not able to or do not want to perform the research on your own, consider reaching out to a financial intermediary, but remember to also compare all the intermediaries to find the one that best suits your needs.
Basta Laneformedlaren is an independent Swedish website, runned by a team that have handeled over 100.000 loan-related matters since 2013. The purpose of Basta Laneformedlaren is to help private individuals to find the most suitable loan by researching and comparing financial intermediaries.