Picking a good lender can be quite a tricky business. There are so many of them available that it can be daunting and knowing what factors to look out for in a good lender can also be hard. Especially when you’re in a rush and need to get cash now. We will all have our own reasons for picking certain lenders but it is worth looking for features in them that you feel strongly about.
Cost
Cost is always an important factor when we are borrowing money. We want to make sure that we are not paying more than necessary for the loan that we are taking out. It is important though, that we are comparing prices properly. It can be tempting to just look at the interest rate of the loan and compare that, but this is not always a good way. The lender may charge fees alongside the interest and so you need to account for those as well. Also, the amount of interest you pay in full will depend on how many interest payments you make. This will be determined by the lender and so you will need to check this. Of course, you may prefer more repayments because they will be smaller and easier to manage.
Customer service
You may like to feel that you are with a lender that will treat you really well. This can be especially important if you feel that you will need to get in touch with them regularly. It may be hard to know but you can think about your relationships with previous lenders or your current bank and decide whether you think that it is likely. If you do want to check then it is wise to get in touch with the customer service department in the way that you would normally expect to once you have a loan. Then see how quickly they respond and whether they seem polite and helpful. This should give you an indication of what to expect if you do decide to borrow from them.
Trustworthiness
There are many people that worry about how trustworthy a lender is and only want to borrow form those that they deem they can trust. Building up trust from potential customers is something that banks try hard to do but you need to be aware of things you need to look out for. If you have used a lender in the past then you may want to use them again if you got on well with them. This can be a good reason for choosing them, but do make sure that you compare them to others just in case there are better options available for you. If banks advertise a lot then we know their name and therefore think that we can trust them. However, just because they advertise it does not follow that they are trustworthy. You may also see reviews and feel that the ones that score highly will be the best. However, many review websites earn commission on leads based on who they recommend. This means that they might be more likely to recommend a lender that will pay then more money rather than one that they genuinely thing is the best. There is also the chance that reviews could be biased in some other way too. It can therefore be better to ask people that you know for their opinions. They will be able to let you know whether they can recommend anyone and discuss their personal experiences with you. You may also like to take a look at their websites and get a feel of what they are like through those.
Type of banking (online, branch etc)
It is important to think of what type of banking you want to do. Some people would rather go into a branch and just deal face to face. Others may not mind using the telephone or e-mail and some may just prefer to bank online. It is good to think about which you prefer because you will then be able to choose one based on this. Some may have all options available but some will not.
These are just a few features that you might like to think about. It is really important to think about what you think is the most important to you and it could be one of these or something completely different. Consider other factors as well, just in case some are very close on the factor that you are most concerned about. It is worth spending the time thinking about this and then doing the research. This will enable you to be get together a list of criteria and then be able to work through your options seeing which is the most suitable. Hopefully you will then end up picking the lender that will offer you the best value for money and you should be happy with the service that they provide.