You have bad credit, so what?  It isn’t the end of the world, and what you’re going to find out is that as long as you work hard, and you want that loan, you’re going to find it.  What you’re going to want to keep in mind, before you even get it is that the loan is going to have to be paid off, and you’re going to have to be serious about it.  If you start missing payments, and more, it’s just going to hurt your chances more in the future.

STEP 1:  Your credit report

The first thing that I want you to do is head down to a credit report site, and grab your credit report.  You will want to look it over, and make sure that everything looks okay.  If you notice any type of error, you’re going to want to get this fixed ASAP.  Refer to a post I wrote about in the past on how you can get late payments off your credit report.

STEP 2:  Start fixing

There are generally minor errors here, and there, and it’s essential that you fix them, because you will find that even the smallest error can cause damage.  Since many lenders are going to base your loan off your credit score, you will want to get this as high as possible.

STEP 3:  Research

When I say research, you don’t want to go out there, and contact one bank.  Most likely they may shoot you down.  Does this mean that you should give up?  Absolutely not!  What you’re going to want to do is contact at least 10 banks.   Contact credit unions, and both small, and large banks.

STEP 4:  Try Peer to Peer Lending

P2P lending is a great way to grab lending from strangers.  Try websites such as Lending Club.  You will have to fill out a profile, and tell the public on what you’re going to need that loan.  From there, you will be able to hopefully land a loan, no matter what your credit score is.  What you find out is that your interest rate will just be a little higher.

STEP 5:  Ask family

This is the last step that you want to take.  If you can’t get a loan anywhere, you may want to ask friends, and family.  Write up a contract, get a lawyer involved if you have to, and show that you’re serious.  Write up a payment plan, and make sure that they know that you’re going to pay this loan back.  It may be hard, but it may be your last resort.

What I have found is that as long as you have a reason to ask for a loan, you’re going to most likely get it.  No one will lend you $1,000 to have a shopping spree, but instead, if you don’t have a car, etc, more people, and banks will side with you, and try their best to help.