by Kash Martinez |
Your finances are tight and you have arrived at the point wherein taking out a loan is almost essential to your needs. Whether you have a family too large for your home or your car has finally given its last exhaust rattle, you need to approach a provider of loans in the Philippines to keep things moving along.
The last thing you need, at this point, is to approach a lender that is not trustworthy and who will impose the highest interest rate they can or try to smuggle hidden extras into your agreement. Follow these five strategies to ensure that you can trust your bank or loan provider to offer you the right loan:
Ask Around
If your pride will allow it, ask your friends and family members for advice if they are satisfied with the terms of their lender. More often than not, you’ll receive a candid depiction of loan processes and pitfalls more thorough than any other source of information. It is a sad fact that word of mouth will spread discontented attitudes faster than contented ones because people are more likely to complain about their service than to expound over how great it was. Hence, asking around may not tell you which lender to choose, but it may give you an idea of who not to choose.
Compare and research
You may not want to advertise your financial situation to your friends and family and that’s fine. However, you can find a wealth of information similar to your situation on the internet through price comparison sites and articles. There are several comparison sites that provide information about banks and other loan providers based on various criteria. Therefore, you can find a provider of loans in the Philippines based on their low-interest rates, customer service and their attitude toward borrowers. Some comparison sites encourage review by customers – the best ones even keep the bad reviews.
If a particular lender stands out as particularly bad or good, there will most likely be an article about them on the internet. Use Google to know more your preferred lenders, but retrieve pertinent information on the internet from independent sources.Any reputable provider of loans in the Philippines will hold a lender’s license. Some lenders will also have a full or quasi-banking license. Check these credentials before undertaking any financial dealing with a lender.
Ask for a quote
Given the questions you have asked and the research you have done, you should have whittled the number of possible lenders down to a few candidates whose lending structure, interest rates and customer service meet your requirements. Don’t automatically assume that the best-rated lender will be the best for your needs.
Now that you have whittled down your choices to a manageable number, you can approach them for a quote. Any reputable and trustworthy provider of loans in the Philippines will be happy to provide you with a quote based on the information with which you provide them. If they are loath to offer you a quote without making the application, you should probably not trust them to have your best interest in mind.
If you have done your research well, you should know how much you need to borrow, how much you will qualify for and the approximate monthly repayments, based on a specific interest rate. If your estimate doesn’t approximately match the lender’s quote, they are probably hiding optional extras without telling you.
Don’t let them pressure you
Selling loans is a retail business and lenders will follow several paths to persuade you to accept them as your lender of choice; some of the more unscrupulous lenders to try to persuade you to higher loan amount with reduced interest rates and longer repayment terms. This disguises the amount you pay interest as repayment on the extra cash loan.
On occasion, it can work out as a better deal for you; an extra few thousand peso with an interest rate decrease of 2% can work out as approximately the same total repayment. However, less trustworthy lenders may try to increase the amount over a longer-term, meaning ultimately, you repay the loan at greater amounts of interest. Banks and lenders acquire profits on the interest you pay so don’t allow them to persuade you away from your course, unless you know that it is to your benefit. Don’t allow any particular lender pressure you into applying for a loan with them until you are completely sure of your choices.
Check your actual loan agreement
Once you have chosen a reputable, well-trusted and non-pressurized lender, you will want to make your loan application formal. This means that your lender will draw up a loan agreement contract, which you must to sign before the funds transfer to you. No loan is final until you have signed the documentation – agreeing to the terms and conditions of the loan.
If you have chosen the right lender, your loan agreement should show the exact terms, which you and your lender agree upon before they draw up the contract. If you and the lender agreed upon the quote, but the contract shows a higher interest rate, a higher monthly payment, etc., you should be very sure of what those additional costs mean. You may have agreed to additional life or payment protection insurance, unaware it would add to the monthly repayment figure. Your lender should allow you ample time to read fully and understand the loan contract; if they try to rush you there may be something hidden in the fine print of your agreement.
When applying for any loans in the Philippines you need a guarantee of your lender’s trustworthiness as well as following the tips above. Peoples’ opinions and comparison sites can only go far toward gaining your trust – the rest you need to experience yourself. While banking is a business and the point of business is to make profit, you shouldn’t deal with those who sell loans in the wrong way.
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Kath Martinez, understands the intrinsic attributes of making excellent content that suits the needs of every business especially when it comes online financing. She can conceptualize and implement marketing plans, explores profitable B2B opportunities and then absorb Loan Solutions PH services.
