What are LendingClubs fees?

Personal loans affect your credit score in the short-term and in the long-term. In the short-term, a personal loan may damage your score because it causes a hard credit inquiry and increases your debt load. But in the long-term, a personal loan can either help or hurt your credit, depending largely on whether or not you pay the bills on time. Ultimately, it’s up to you how much impact the personal loan will have.… read full answer

How a Personal Loan Affects Your Credit Score:

• Does temporary damage with an initial hard inquiry. When you first apply for a personal loan, your credit score will immediately take a small hit. That’s because applying for a personal loan triggers a hard inquiry into your credit history. But this shouldn’t drop your score by more than 5 points or so, and you should be able to bounce back quickly.
• Adds to your overall debt. If you’re approved for a personal loan, you will immediately have a higher debt load, which may cause your credit score to drop in the short-term. That’s because the more debt you have, the riskier it is for banks and credit unions to lend to you.
• Reports to the major credit bureaus monthly. The banks, credit unions and online lenders that issue personal loans report payment information to the major credit bureaus on a monthly basis. If you make on-time payments, you can expect your score to increase. But if you are late or don’t pay altogether, your score will drop.
• Improves your credit mix. Proving yourself capable of managing multiple types of loans and lines of credit responsibly is good for your credit score. It shows you can be trusted to repay what you borrow in a variety of situations. So if you only have one or two other types of accounts on your credit report, such as credit cards or student loans, your score may benefit in the long run from getting the personal loan.
• Could help reduce credit utilization. Personal loans give you a lump sum up front, which you pay back in monthly installments. This is different from a credit card, where you can borrow up to a certain amount any time you want. Credit cards are known as “revolving credit,” and a big part of your credit score is how much of your revolving credit you use up each month, or your “credit utilization ratio.” Personal loans don’t count toward this ratio, so if you use them to pay off revolving debt, you can lower your ratio and improve your score.

In conclusion, as long as you’re sure to pay on time each month, a personal loan should eventually increase your score by a lot more than the initial inquiry caused it to fall. You can also avoid wasting hard inquiries by getting pre-qualified for a loan first. Pre-qualification only uses a harmless soft inquiry. And while it doesn’t guarantee approval, it will let you know if your odds are good.

LendingClub requires a minimum credit score of 600 for LendingClub’s “standard” loans, according to the company’s annual report. The report also states that borrowers with lower credit scores may be approved for “custom” loans, which generally have the same sizes and lengths. Applicants can be approved for a custom loan if LendingClub is able to verify their income and that income is high enough to offset their credit score (no specific dollar amount given). According to numerous third-party sources, it may be possible to qualify for one of these loans with a credit score as low as 600 - 640.… read full answer

Applicants for a LendingClub personal loan will be judged based on more than just their credit score and income, however. LendingClub also considers an individual’s existing debt load, recent credit inquiries and more.

The best way to find out your chances of approval is to check for pre-qualification. Not only will this give you an idea of whether you’re likely to be approved, but it will also give you an estimate of your potential rates and fees. Pre-qualification will not affect your credit score, but actually submitting an application afterward will. You can use WalletHub’s free pre-qualification tool to check your status with LendingClub and a number of other lenders.

Keep in mind that in order to get LendingClub’s cheapest rates, you’ll likely need an excellent credit score. People who just barely qualify are likely to get rates closer to LendingClub’s maximum.

It’s also good to note that LendingClub offers auto refinancing loans, too. According to third-party sources, LendingClub might accept credit scores as low as 510 for these loans.