The economic landscape has altered beyond all belief following the start of the recession period in 2008, and the changes to the way that we borrow money have been among the biggest over the last 6 years. A few years back it was much easier to get access to a loan or any other form of credit from mainstream lenders, which made covering an unexpected expense or consolidating debt a great deal easier. However banks and building societies are now much more cautious about who they lend money to, and it is now very difficult to get a low-interest loan from a mainstream source if you do not have perfect credit.
Guarantor lending, a happy middle ground
Many people need a loan from time to time for a variety of reasons, and many millions of consumers found themselves in real trouble when the mainstream lenders pulled up the credit drawbridge so to speak, and this gap in the market was initially plugged by payday lenders. The no questions asked, quick pay-out policies of payday lenders certainly gave people access to the credit that they needed but the eye-watering rates of interest and short-term nature of the loans left a sour taste in the mouths of many. Guarantor lending soon emerged as a sound middle ground between mainstream and payday lenders, and the flexibility and competitive interest rates offered by guarantor loans has seen them grow in popularity in recent years. Guarantor loans offer consumers loans of up to £7,500 which can be taken out over a 1 to 5 year period (although higher amounts may only be available over 3 to 5 years), and competitive rates of well under 50% APR mean that they are much more affordable than their payday counterparts, whilst the fact that they are specifically designed for those with bad credit makes them much more accessible than loans from mainstream sources. Of course the only catch is that you need a guarantor to co-sign your loan and sponsor your application.
Things to look out for when deciding who to borrow from
There are many different guarantor lenders out there and all of them on the surface seem fairly similar, so the question is what should we be looking at for when we assessing which guarantor loans company to apply with? Although guarantor lenders tend to have very similar rates of APR attached to their loans, some will have cheaper interest rates than others so it is worth doing some digging to see which companies are offering the best deals. A much underrated thing to look out for is the quality of customer service and the professionalism offered by a guarantor lender. After all if you are going to borrow a large sum of money from a company, it is important to know that you are going to be treated fairly and treated as a customer rather than a number. Again, check review sites such as Trustpilot so you can look into the reviews and comments which have been left by previous customers so you can get an idea of who you are climbing in bed with, so to speak.
Guarantor lending, a happy middle ground
Many people need a loan from time to time for a variety of reasons, and many millions of consumers found themselves in real trouble when the mainstream lenders pulled up the credit drawbridge so to speak, and this gap in the market was initially plugged by payday lenders. The no questions asked, quick pay-out policies of payday lenders certainly gave people access to the credit that they needed but the eye-watering rates of interest and short-term nature of the loans left a sour taste in the mouths of many. Guarantor lending soon emerged as a sound middle ground between mainstream and payday lenders, and the flexibility and competitive interest rates offered by guarantor loans has seen them grow in popularity in recent years. Guarantor loans offer consumers loans of up to £7,500 which can be taken out over a 1 to 5 year period (although higher amounts may only be available over 3 to 5 years), and competitive rates of well under 50% APR mean that they are much more affordable than their payday counterparts, whilst the fact that they are specifically designed for those with bad credit makes them much more accessible than loans from mainstream sources. Of course the only catch is that you need a guarantor to co-sign your loan and sponsor your application.
Things to look out for when deciding who to borrow from
There are many different guarantor lenders out there and all of them on the surface seem fairly similar, so the question is what should we be looking at for when we assessing which guarantor loans company to apply with? Although guarantor lenders tend to have very similar rates of APR attached to their loans, some will have cheaper interest rates than others so it is worth doing some digging to see which companies are offering the best deals. A much underrated thing to look out for is the quality of customer service and the professionalism offered by a guarantor lender. After all if you are going to borrow a large sum of money from a company, it is important to know that you are going to be treated fairly and treated as a customer rather than a number. Again, check review sites such as Trustpilot so you can look into the reviews and comments which have been left by previous customers so you can get an idea of who you are climbing in bed with, so to speak.