Can you negotiate personal loan rates?
If you are wondering if you can negotiate with lenders about personal loan interest rates, the answer is it depends on the lender. Large banking institutions are least likely to budge on interest rates and they present you with more of a take it or leave it attitude. When it comes to credit unions, if you have been a member at your credit union for a number of years, you might have some sort of rapport with the credit union staff, or they may look favorably on your commitment to the credit union. You may be able to leverage this to negotiate a lower interest rate on a personal loan. When it comes to online lenders, there may be some room to negotiate an interest rate, however, it depends on the lender. If you are trying to obtain a lower interest rate than your initial offer, you may need to justify why you think you deserve it. For example, if you have a better offer from another lender but prefer to do business with a different lender, you may be able to show the preferred lender your loan offer and see if they can match it. You may also be able to offer collateral to see if this helps bring your rate down.By offering to use an asset to secure the loan, many lenders may consider offering you a lower interest rate in return. Some examples of assets the borrowers may commonly use to secure personal loans include a home, car, boat, stocks, bonds, insurance policy, jewelry, fine art, antiques, collectible, good, silver, future paychecks, cash in a savings or retirement account, or cash in a certificate of deposit account. Also, some lenders may make you a second offer with a lower interest rate on a personal loan if you ask to add a co-signer with an excellent credit score to the loan, especially if you only have a fair credit score or worse. If you have had a personal loan for some time and your credit score has improved, you may want to ask the lender about refinancing the loan to bring the interest rate down.