I'm in Debt!: Online Sources of a Low Rate Personal Loan

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Online Sources of a Low Rate Personal Loan

by John Mussi

Like other loans, finding a low rate personal loan is as easy as a click of your mouse. It is likely that there is not one lender who does not have a website and offer online loans. After all, this is the 21st century, and borrowers are looking for an easy way to transact all of their financial business. With the convenience also comes the need for some precautions as well.

Know the lender

When you are applying for a low rate personal loan online, make certain you know the lender. What we mean by this know that you are going to a true site, and avoid clicking on any links that you receive in email, commonly known as phishing sites. In order to avoid doing that, know the site you want to visit and key the address into your browser rather than clicking on links. This assures that you are going to the lender's real site and not a mirror site where your information will be collected and used either to commit identity theft or to obtain all your financial information and use it to obtain credit in your name.

Be aware of secured sites

In most cases, financial sites are secured sites and are noted as such by the presence of a closed lock at the bottom of the web page. If you are applying for a low rate personal loan online, and you do not see the lock at the bottom, do not put any personal information on that site. If you are interested in applying with that particular lender, check the site for either a phone number or an email and communicate with the lender that way. Putting personal information on unsecured sites opens the potential for others to view the information and use it for their own interests.

Only provide pertinent information

When filling out information for a low rate personal loan online, do not offer information that is not asked. For one thing, unless you have looked at your credit report recently and know exactly what is on it, you may be giving the lender information that they would not otherwise know. This is especially important if it's an explanation for a negative item that you think may be there. It's much better to put the explanation in your credit file than to automatically tell a lender. In addition, in some areas, different credit bureaus provide information for different regions, and you may be giving information that is on a credit bureau file in another region because of the location of the creditor.

Have all information available

When you sit down to fill out the application, be sure to have everything in front of you that you will need. This not only saves time, but also saves you the potential risk of the site locking you out or logging you off while you go look for additional information. Secured sites customarily time out after so many minutes of inactivity, and if you're looking for information during that time, you may have to start the process over when you return. It also prevents anyone who is close to you computer from seeing what you are doing.