If You Have Bad Credit, Can You Qualify for a Debt Consolidation Loan

If You Have Bad Credit, Can You Qualify for a Debt Consolidation Loan If You Have Bad Credit, Can You Qualify for a Debt Consolidation Loan? If You Have Bad Credit, Can You Qualify for a Debt Consolidation Loan?If  you want to consolidate your debt but you have a lousy credit score, youre going to run into the same problems as you would trying to apply for any other loan.Bad credit is like the worst kind of slope: a slippery one. Once you miss some payments, your credit score will start dropping and the fees and interest on that debt will keep growing.So now you have more debt and a lower credit score which will make getting a personal loan harder. One way to help manage your debt is to take out a debt consolidation loan, where you get one big loan to pay off all your smaller ones. Then you only have one payment to make every month! And hopefully at a lower interest rate than you were paying previously!But if you already have a poor credit score, is debt consolidation really a possibility for you? Read on and find out!Payment history and amounts owed are the two most important parts of your score.Before we continue, lets make sure were all on the same page. Your history as a borrower is collected into documents called credit reports by the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. That information is then fed through an algorithm created by the FICO corporation to create your credit score, a three-digit number that expresses your perceived trustworthiness as a borrower. Potential lenders use these scores to help determine whether they’ll lend to you and at what rates.Your credit score is composed of five categories. The most important category, worth 35 percent of your total score, is your payment history. This is a measure of whether you’ve been paying your bills and paying them on time. When it comes to whether you’re likely to pay off your debts in the future, it’s not surprising that lenders will want to know whether you’ve paid your debts in the past.The next factor, worth only a little less at 30 percent, is your amounts owed. This is, as the name suggests, the a mount you currently owe to your various lenders. If you already have a lot of debt to manage, it stands to reason that you’ll have a tougher time managing new debt. In general, youll want to keep any credit card balances below 30 percent of your total credit limit to help this section of your score.If you think you have a good credit score because youve never been in debt, youre wrong.  The last three factors are each less important on their own, but together they account for a little over a third of your credit score, as the math would suggest.The length of your credit history is worth 15 percent. This is where some people can get hung up because they think having never gotten into debt in the first place will lead to a good credit score. That’s not the case. FICOs algorithm does not look too kindly on people whove never borrowed money before because, well, theyve never borrowed money before! The algorithm isnt sure how they would handle it!That’s why, even if you don’t qua lify for a regular credit card, you should consider getting a secured credit card. This is a card that’s easier to qualify for but which requires you to put down cash as collateral. That way, you can start building up your credit by using the credit card and paying the bill in full each month. But you don’t want to use it too much since the next 10 percent is …Your credit mix! This takes into account how your credit obligations are divided. Lenders want to see as diverse a mix as possible. So if all your debts are on credit cards or in the form of personal loans, youll get dinged for that.Finally, the last 10 percent is recent credit inquiries. Hard credit checks, performed by most standard financial companies when you’re seeking a loan, will cause a temporary negative effect on your credit score. The effect isnt huge and will only last a maximum of two years, but when you have bad credit, every little bit counts.What is a debt consolidation loan, exactly?Speaking of applyin g for a loan, just what is a debt consolidation loan? Basically, it’s a loan you take out for the express purpose of paying off the debts you want to consolidate. You take out the new loan, and then use those funds to pay your old debts off. There are certain loans that are advertised specifically as debt consolidation loans, and you include the other balances that you want to pay off as a part of the loan process.Ideally, this new loan will have lower rates than the original loan or lower monthly payments. Or super duper ideally, both. Oftentimes, though, youll be asked to choose between the lower monthly payments and paying more in interest overallâ€"even with lower rates. A longer term on a loan means lower payments, while a shorter term means less interest will accrue. In choosing between the two, its really about whats right for you.If youre applying for a debt consolidation loan that has a higher interest rate than your current debts or  monthly payments that you cant afford , then you shouldnt take out that loan. While simplifying your debts is a good thingâ€"allowing you to make one payment each month instead of manyâ€"paying more money in order to do that is not.So can you get a debt consolidation loan with bad credit? And should you?Folks with bad credit will run into the same issues with a debt consolidation loan that they will with regular loans.Getting a debt consolidation loan with bad credit is like getting any other loan with bad credit: less than ideal. Traditional lenders likely wont lend to you at all, and the ones that will are going to charge you much higher interest rates. The rates might be so high that the loan isnt even worth it. Loans or credit cards that were taken out before  you had a bad credit score might have better rates than anything youre able to qualify for right now.Youll also want to be very careful with any lender that does  want to lend to you when you have bad credit. While there are many bad credit lenders out there t hat are totally legit, there are many others whose predatory products will trap you in a cycle of debt. Trying to consolidate your debt with one of these lenders could  leave you in a worse situation than you were in before the consolidation.Then again, even the higher rates from one bad credit loan might be far better than what youre paying on your  other bad credit debt. For instance, if you have multiple payday loans outstanding that you are struggling to pay, consolidating all of those loans into a single bad credit installment loan with longer terms and lower payments might just be the ticket to stabilizing your finances.The solution to choosing the right bad credit debt consolidation loan is simple: Do your research. Make sure you compare different loans using their APR, or annual percentage rate, to determine which one is most affordable, and make sure to read all of the fine print before signing anything. Check the monthly payment amounts against your budget and see whether or not youll be able to afford them. Online reviews can also help you determine which lender is the right choice for you.In a best-case scenario, you’ll find a debt consolidation loan with better terms that will report your payments to the credit bureaus. Then, not only will you be handling your debt, you’ll be building your credit score back up as well!Having a bad credit score is always going to be tougher than having a good one. But it might still be worth looking into a debt consolidation loan. As long as you don’t have to agree to any hard credit checks, there isn’t a downside to exploring your options.To learn more about getting out of debt, check out these related posts and articles from OppLoans:Want to Get Out of Debt? Then Let It Snow(ball)!Are Balance Transfers a Good Way to Pay Down Debt?Climb Your Way Out of Debt: 6 Paths You Can Take TodayWhat do you think is the best strategy for getting out of debt?  Let us know  on Facebook  and  Twitter.