Where can you get an online title loan:
There are 4 types of companies who can get you funds for a title loan online. Let’s go thru each one so you know what works best and the advantages and disadvantages of working with each type:
DIRECT LENDERS
Direct title loan lenders are companies that actually loan the money themselves. They will have a group of call center agents take your call (sometimes just one person, sometimes hundreds depending on the size of the firm). Once they see if your car will qualify for their loan product (sometimes they have several), they will then have you fill out a “full application” either by phone or by sending it to you.
They will need some documentation. Because of State and Federal laws, they need to make sure you are who you say you are, that you have the ability to repay the loan, and that what you are using for security is really yours. This is called the “underwriting process”. They may or may not pull your credit. Most companies are not as concerned about your credit score; rather if you are in credit counseling or bankruptcy. Even if you filed bankruptcy before, as long as it is closed, you most probably will be good to go.
Because they are the direct lender they can quote you exact interest rates, payment amounts and what they will need to process the loan.
Depending on their size, they will not be too pushy.
ADVANTAGE OF USING A DIRECT LENDER:
- They will have everything you need to know.
- They will give you firm numbers.
- They may shorten the process by having you go directly to a partner location or one of their stores with what you need.
- They are heavily regulated on their activities.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING A DIRECT LENDER:
- Sometimes if they get real busy, you may not get personal service
- If they can’t fund you for some reason you have to do the whole process over again with someone else.
- There is no way to know how competitive their rates are unless you shopped around and went thru the process several times.
BROKERS
A broker is typically licensed by the state and usually bonded. They are a middle man but very useful because they typically overcome the disadvantages of direct lenders. A licensed broker will gather the information the direct lender will need and shop around your loan to try to get you the best deal. They might actually offer you the options so in one call, you saved a lot of time. Because they handle so many loan companies and so many situations, they typically know ways around issues you may have with getting a title loan.
They act on behalf of the lender and get paid from the lender when your loan funds. Direct lenders are used to paying this as a form of advertising and solid lead sources and rarely do you see the cost somehow added to your loan. So you get the same deal as if you called the Direct Lender.
ADVANTAGE OF USING A BROKER:
- If they are licensed, they have to act in accordance, like the direct lender, to financial laws and protections of the consumer.
- They have a great deal of knowledge and expertise with the various types of situations that arise and can save you time by not moving you to a lender which, at the end of the day, would have never worked for you.
- They are VERY aggressive with getting the loan funded. They have skin in the game. They don’t get paid unless you fund. This means they can always keep your deal in front of the lender, even if they get busy with other clients. This is very helpful. They usually have the lenders “backlines” on the phones and “go to” people at the direct lender when they need some help.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING A BROKER:
- Sometimes they will move your loan to a preferred company which they get a higher bounty than others. This does not mean you will get a bad deal, but rather a deal which they like over one which you might have liked for other reasons.
- They may seem pushy at times. Remember they are trying to get you funded as fast as possible so expect a lot of calls back and forth as they solve problems you may face in getting funded. You will have more communication then you may want until you get funded.
- They may not have final figures when you speak to them. Only Direct Lenders can offer you money and give you solid interest rates. Even though this is a disadvantage it can work for you if you realize that if the direct lender comes up with an interest rate you can’t live with, they can put pressure on the lender to make a better deal for you.
AFFILIATE TITLE LOAN SITES
These are websites that LOOK like a lender but are not. They are also not brokers. They are webmasters who built a website and if they get the information on their form it will either go to a title loan direct lender or to a broker. Most of the time, they are not licensed and almost every time, when you actually speak or interact, you will not deal with them, you will deal with a title loan broker or a title loan lender.
ADVANTAGE OF USING AN AFFILIATE SITE:
- They appear a lot in the search engines so at least you get to see information fast
- If they are an affiliate of a reputable loan processor, like Tradition One Media, you can count of quality results. If not, you may get a lot of calls from places which cannot help you.
- Their sites are usually very pretty. Okay so that’s not a great reason but usually they have good information if they update on a regular basis. Remember, they want to rank well in Google so they may have a lot of ways to get noticed and giving good quality content is one of them.
DISADVANTAGES OF USING A AFFILIATE SITE:
- They may not be updated on the changes to the laws.
- They may not be transparent as to where your information is going.
- They cannot answer anything directly that you need but know people who can.
OFF SHORE TITLE LOAN WEBSITES
These are companies that simply do not want to follow the rules that the United States laws impose. There are certain things you can say and do and somethings you cannot. If you look, they are easy to find in the bottom of their websites or in the “how it works” section. There is a reason why they cannot do business in the USA and it is usually because don’t want federal regulators to look at their loans.
ADVANTAGE OF USING AN OFF SHORE TITLE LOAN WEBSITE:
- Absolutely zero. High risk loans and no rules that they have to follow means you are in considerable risk if there is a problem.
DISADVANTAGE OF USING AN OFF SHORE TITLE LOAN WEBSITE:
- See above.
To learn more about ways to protect yourself and make a wise decision for a car title loan lender that is online, you should read this article.