Personal loan solicitation

[pd1373]

Well, that didn't take long.....

My Ch7 was discharged last Wednesday. Since then the credit offers have come rolling in, mostly giving us the opportunity to buy a car (with two late model cars we won't be in the market for several years, so we've been tossing these.) However, after we built the house last fall we were informed by the city that we had a year to put our lawn in. Needless to say this isn't done yet. Well, today in the mail I got a solicitation from a place offering personal loans. I looked them up on the Web, no sign that they're crooked but one infomercial article noted that they do much of their business loaning money to people to get them out of the payday loan cycle.

I have a quote for $3150 to level the yard, lay down topsoil (100 yards...... ) and seed. I'll never come up with that much cash in the next couple months and am thinking of getting a loan from these folks. Is there any reason to believe this might be a mistake?

Thanks all
cheers,
pd

[Flamingo]

Since your BK discharge is public information, certain creditors lie in wait for all that information to be released so they can bombard you with offers. Auto dealers are usually the worse but others jump in also. They are taking advantage of the fact that you have no debt but you can bet their offers will be loaded with fees or high percentages so be very careful as to these offers when they come in and read all the fine print and do your homework on anything you may have interest in. Personally, I would avoid anything for a while and give yourself time to reestablish yourself credit-wise so you don't find yourself bogged down with new, high interest and fees debt.

After our Chapter 13 discharge, we had more junk mail appear in our inbox from auto dealers, home refinancings, home improvement places, real estate agencies and, believe it or not, travel agencies. We just tossed it all in the recycle bin.

[cap350z]

Could you share the name of the loan company? I am in need of a personal loan. wish I could have gotten the offers you got after my chapter 7 filing. But I only got auto loan offers.

[pd1373]

It's here:

[URL deleted by moderator - please PM pd1373 if you are interested in the name of this lender]

but they're only licensed in Illinois and Wisconsin, so unfortunately you have to live in one of those two states....... :-/

[PaKettle]

It's "your funeral", but taking personal loans for $3000+ after bankruptcy seems counter-productive and dangerous to me. I'd find a way to do the work more cheaply or just don't do it.

As to credit offers, I have gotten plenty of offers for credit after my discharge in March, BUT they are all with horribly high fees and itnerest rates. One that sends me an offer like once a week is some credit card that sounds like Capitol One but isn't, and they offer me something like a $500 credit limit with 15% interest, BUT the fees are so high - this fee and that fee - that by the time I get my card in the mail it only has $133 left on it!

Man, are these people serious?! Do people really go for these offers??! Amazing...

Then some Honda dealer 200 miles away keeps sending me offers to buy a car, and guaranteeing that they will sell me one, but they do not mention the interest rate. I don't need a car, but I guarantee you if I did, I would not go there. I'm sure what they do is make you pay full retail for the car AND very high interest. It would make more sense to buy a $500 piece of junk to get around in until you can save enough to buy a better car or get a decent car at a decent interest rate.

[pd1373]

I understand why you say what you did about the loan, and don't get the idea that I'm all that happy about it either, but I don't have the option of not having the work done. If my lawn isn't in by November I am going to start accumulating municipal fines, because here we are required to get the lawn in within a year of moving in.

I don't have the means or ability to do the work myself, and it's quite reasonably priced (you ever price out 100 yards of topsoil? It's half the bill.)

So even if it's 24% interest I'm still better off than letting the city fine me.

[CindyLou]

Ouch! 24! check with your local credit union. I was able to do a 3300 personal loan shortly after BK from our credit union and they took the payment directly from my paycheck. The interest was 12...check out your other options first.

[Flamingo]

I understand why you say what you did about the loan, and don't get the idea that I'm all that happy about it either, but I don't have the option of not having the work done. If my lawn isn't in by November I am going to start accumulating municipal fines, because here we are required to get the lawn in within a year of moving in.

I don't have the means or ability to do the work myself, and it's quite reasonably priced (you ever price out 100 yards of topsoil? It's half the bill.)

So even if it's 24% interest I'm still better off than letting the city fine me.

You asked in your original post if taking this loan "might be a mistake" and you got a good answer. Yes, it is a mistake to take it at that percentage but if you are stuck, you are stuck. CindyLou gave you a great idea as to a possible source. The other is if you are that stuck and have to do this, investigate a 401(k) loan or see if the City itself has finance options for those that need the work done. I know that when some sewer systems had to go in by the county in our area, the cost for anything done to your system had to be borne by the owner but financing options were offerred.

Anything coming in the mail after your discharge is to try to hook you with high fees and interest rates. If you do have to take that loan, do yourself a favor and try to pay it off early if there is no prepayment penalty (there probably is). Best of luck to you.

[pd1373]

My credit union already turned me down. I asked them first after I got the discharge. My company doesn't make 401k loans.

I have no idea what the rate would be on any personal loan from this company. I just pulled that out as a WAG knowing that as a recent bankrupt I am what they would call "subprime".

[Flamingo]

My credit union already turned me down. I asked them first after I got the discharge. My company doesn't make 401k loans.

I have no idea what the rate would be on any personal loan from this company. I just pulled that out as a WAG knowing that as a recent bankrupt I am what they would call "subprime".

If you investigate that option, please ensure you review ALL fine print involved before you sign. Do you have family members or good friends by any chance that could help you out and you repay them over a period of time? Just another suggestion that works for some.

[pd1373]

Well, we'll see. I did go ahead and apply, and the terms were no prepayment penalty and full reporting to credit agencies; but with an interest rate of nearly 100% I decided to let it go. Maybe I'll look again into getting the lawn done in September or October after a few months of paying our bills on time, presuming I'm not able to save the money in the interim. Just as long as it's started before 11/19. It'll be kind of challenging though as even coming out of the bankruptcy we have negative disposable income......I'll have to see if the local Walmart is hiring on 2nd shift....

Thanks all

[Flamingo]

BIG OUCH!!! A nearly 100% interest rate????? Does a friend or family member have a credit card on which you can charge what you need to get it done and pay the bill each month? Your suggestion about a part time job is a good one if you have no other way. Best of luck to you with all of this...

[pd1373]

We'll see. Mrs. pd1373 and I will have a little time to determine the resources available to us and discuss our options. There were a lot of good suggestions, some of which we've thought of and some we haven't, and we'll make up our minds as the days go by. The kids can go play in the park this summer and I won't have to mow any grass.

No matter, either way I won't be pursuing any credit for awhile. Better that way anyway; Mrs. still has not yet fully become one with the notion of not spending money we don't have. With any luck the credit freeze will provide enough time to get an attitude adjustment from her, and after paying the bills on time for awhile it will be easier to get a loan at a reasonable rate if necessary instead of paying Mafia rates.

cheers, pd