How long does it take to get money from an Oportun personal loan?

You can get a personal loan of $1,000 to $100,000. The amount depends on the lender and your overall creditworthiness when you apply. That means your credit score, income and existing debts will have a big impact on how much of a personal loan you can get approved for.

Each personal loan company has its own minimum and maximum loan amounts, along with unique policies to determine how much different types of applicants should receive. Below, you can see how big (or small) of a loan you might be able to get from some of the most popular lenders.… read full answer

How Much Personal Loan You Can Get by Lender:

One good way to see what personal loan amounts you may be able to get is to use WalletHub’s personal loan comparison tool. You can filter for how big of a loan you want, along with other factors like your credit standing, on the left side of the page.

Once you compare your options, it’s a good idea to see if you’re pre-qualified before you apply. Pre-qualification shows you which lenders are likely to approve you, along with the rates that you’re likely to get if approved. You can get pre-qualified for multiple lenders at once using WalletHub’s free pre-qualification tool.

Personal loans let you borrow a sum of money from a lender and then pay it back in monthly installments over a set term – usually anywhere from 12 to 84 months. Those monthly payments include equal portions of the original loan amount, plus interest and fees. For example, there may be an origination fee to process the application – sometimes charged upfront, sometimes added to the balance or deducted from the funds. Personal loans can be used for debt consolidation, home improvements, vacations, big purchases and more. Applicants generally need at least good credit for personal loan approval.… read full answer

For added context, the average personal loan in 2018 was for about $6,400, with interest accruing at a 17.31% APR. Personal loans sometimes work better in theory than in practice, however. Roughly 3.21% of personal loan borrowers were seriously delinquent on payments, as of August 2018, according to data from TransUnion.

Plenty of people who take out a personal loan find a way to make the process work for them. Understanding how things will go, from the time you apply to when you submit your final payment, is the key to making personal loans work for you.

How Personal Loans Work:

1. Application. You will need to provide personal information (such as your address and SSN), financial information (such as your income and employment status) and more. The lender will evaluate and hopefully approve you.
2. Disbursement of funds. The issuer of the loan will deposit the money into your bank account as a lump sum. You can do whatever you wish with the money, unless the terms of the loan say otherwise.
3. Interest. From the day you take out the loan, the amount will begin accruing interest at a rate set by the issuer. So no matter how long it takes you to pay the loan back, you’ll always owe more than you originally took out.
4. Monthly payments. The lender will give you a required amount to pay each month. You can pay more if you’d like, but make sure that there’s no penalty for paying the loan off earlier than the terms of the contract stipulate. Some lenders may charge a fee.
5. Credit building. The lender will report to the credit bureaus whether you’ve paid on time each month. Once you’ve paid off the entire balance, including interest and fees, the lender will report your loan as paid in full. Abiding by the terms of your loan can help increase your credit score.

Personal loans are pretty simple. You just have to make sure to submit your payments every month, and setting up automatic monthly payments from a bank account can go a long way in that regard. The most complicated part of the process is probably selecting the correct loan, but WalletHub’s comparison tool makes that easy.

To get a loan quickly, apply online with a personal loan provider that is known for fast approval and funding times, such as LightStream. Applying online will ensure the fastest possible application processing time, assuming that all information on the application is accurate and entered correctly. You could get your loan funded within 2-3 business days, if not the same day.… read full answer

Secured personal loans also tend to provide quick decisions, as the collateral they require greatly reduces the lender’s risk. Even people with bad credit can get approved relatively easily. Other ways to get a quick loan include borrowing from a family member or friend, using a credit card or tapping into home equity. There are also some non-ideal options, such as payday lenders, auto title lenders and pawnshops.

How to get a quick loan

1. Apply for one of the quickest personal loans. The quickest personal loan provider, LightStream, can fund and approve loans as soon as the same day you apply. Many other lenders offer funding within 2 - 3 business days. For the fastest timeline, pre-qualify first, apply online, and fill out the application accurately.

2. Apply for a secured personal loan. Secured personal loans require collateral for approval. This ensures that the lender can still recoup its money even if the borrower is unable to repay what they owe. This makes the approval decision easier for the lender.

3. Borrow from family/friends. If you ask a family member or friend to borrow money, it’s possible you could get it pretty much instantly, since they won’t be performing a credit check or making you fill out an application. You should still take time to write down and sign a loan agreement, though.

4. Use a credit card. If you have a credit card, you may be able to charge your expenses if they add up to less than the card’s credit limit. But credit card APRs are expensive, around 19% on average for new offers and around 15% for all existing accounts.

You could also withdraw cash against the card’s credit limit at an ATM, as long as you have a PIN. However, cash advances come with high fees and start accruing interest immediately, so they’re not ideal.

5. Use a HELOC. It takes weeks to get approved for a home equity line of credit, so normally they’re not a quick way to get money. However, if you already have one open, you can use it to get a quick loan any time during its draw period. Keep in mind that a HELOC is secured by your house, so if you can’t pay, the lender can foreclose.

There are a few things you should definitely avoid when trying to get a loan quickly. Don’t go to payday lenders, which lend a small amount of money until your next paycheck comes in. They charge sky-high fees (often a 400%+ APR). Auto title lenders are bad, too, as they charge high fees (up to a quarter of what you borrow) and use your car as collateral. Similarly, avoid pawnshops, as they charge up to 25% interest per month and can keep your items if you’re unable to buy the loan back.