Online Loans Terms and Conditions

Satta Sarmah-Hightower

Banking
23 Feb 2016
8 minute read

Don’t sign on the dotted line for any personal loan until you’ve read the fine print. In case you need help, though, we’ve combed through the specifics for several popular lenders. Here’s what we found:

Avant

The Basics: Avant offers access to debt consolidation, home improvement and emergency loans and is geared toward borrowers with at least a 580 FICO score. Since it targets people with less than stellar credit, Avant’s APR is higher than other lending options — ranging from 9.95% to 35.99%. You can borrow anywhere from $2,000 to $35,000 and set up automatic payments or pay by check (bonus: there’s no check processing fee). Avant also offers a courtesy due date adjustment if you have trouble making payments. Call customer service to find out if you’re eligible.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
Rates, terms and loan availability vary by state
9.95% to 35.99% APR
Borrow anywhere from $2,000 to $35,000
Receive a loan as quickly as the next business day
2 to 5-year loan terms
No prepayment penalty
No balloon payment at the end of the loan
$25 late fee (most states)
Late forgiveness feature: borrowers who miss a payment get refunded the late fee if they make their following three payments on time

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Best Egg

The Basics: Starting at 5.99%, Best Egg offers a lower APR than many of its online and brick and mortar competitors, but you’ll have to pay a .99% to 4.99% origination fee that will be deducted from your loan. The way it works is simple: get approved for a $5,000 loan with a 4.99% origination fee, for example, and you actually get a $4,750.50 loan. Borrowers should keep this in mind when requesting funds.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
Next-business day financing
The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the cost of credit as a yearly rate and ranges from 5.99%-29.99%, which may include an origination fee from 0.99%–5.99% that is deducted from loan proceeds. Your specific APR based on application information, credit score, credit history, loan amount and term.
Any origination fee on a loan term 4-years or longer will be at least 4.99%.
The loan term and the APR offered will depend on your credit score, income, debt payment obligations, loan amount, credit usage history and other factors. Additionally, the APR offered is impacted by your loan term and may be higher than our lowest advertised rate. Requests for the highest loan amount may result in an APR higher than our lowest advertised rate.
You need a minimum 700 FICO® score and a minimum individual annual income of $100,000 to qualify for their lowest rate.
Best Egg loans are unsecured personal loans made by Cross River Bank, a New Jersey State Chartered Commercial Bank, Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. “Best Egg” is a trademark of Marlette Funding, LLC. All uses of “Best Egg” on this site mean and shall refer to “the Best Egg personal loan” and/or “Best Egg on behalf of Cross River Bank, as originator of the Best Egg personal loan,” as applicable.
Loan amounts generally range from $2,000-$35,000. Offers up to $50,000 may be available for qualified customers who receive offer codes in the mail.
The minimum individual annual income needed to qualify for a loan of $50,000 is $130,000.
Borrowers may hold no more than two open Best Egg loans at any given time. In order to be eligible for a second Best Egg loan, your existing Best Egg loan must have been open for at least four months. Total existing Best Egg loan balances must not exceed $50,000.
All loans in MA must exceed $6,000; in NM, OH must exceed $5,000; in GA must exceed $3,000.
Borrowers should refer to their loan agreement for specific terms and conditions.
Your verifiable income must support your ability to repay your loan.
Upon loan funding, the timing of available funds may vary depending upon your bank’s policies.
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you.
$15 late fee and $15 fee for returned payments

Discover

The Basics: You’ll need a minimum income of at least $25,000 to be eligible for a Discover personal loan. Loans are fixed rate and amounts range from $2,500 to $30,000. Discover also offers a 30-day money back guarantee that allows borrowers — who’ve either changed their minds or found a better rate with another lender — to return the funds with zero interest within 30 days.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
6.99% to 29.99% APR
Borrowers can be unemployed and still qualify
Borrow anywhere from $2,500 to $30,000
Funding as early as the next business day
3-year to 7-year loan terms
6.99% APR not available for 7-year term
19.99% to 29.99% APR not available for 6-year or 7-year loan terms and loan amounts above $25,000
No origination fees, prepayment penalty or closing costs
However, there’s no refund on interest charges already paid if you pay off the loan early
$39 late fee if full monthly installment isn’t paid by due date
Return loan funds via check within 30 days and pay no interest

Lending Club

The Basics: Technology has made peer-to-peer lending a viable alternative to banks, and Lending Club is probably the most recognizable name in the industry. Lending Club assesses each borrower and assigns a credit rating and interest rate based on creditworthiness and risk. Borrowers receive multiple loan offers and choose one that meets their needs, then investors provide funding for the loan.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
Lending Club assigns a grade of A to G for each loan, with different interest rates, APRs and origination fees. Grade A loans have the most favorable terms, with interest rates ranging from 5.32% to 7.89% and an origination fee as low as 1%.
Borrow anywhere from $1,000 to $35,000
2-year, 3-year and 5-year loan terms
No prepayment penalty
5.99% to 32.99% APR
Origination fee ranging from 1 to 5%, depending on loan grade. Fee is deducted from the requested loan amount.
Once loan is approved and funded, borrowers receive money within four business days
15-day grace period after your due date to make payments without a penalty and impact to your credit score
Late fee of $15 or 5% of your unpaid monthly balance, whichever is greater
$15 unsuccessful payment fee if your bank rejects a payment. Lending Club will try to process your payment up to three times and will charge the fee for each unsuccessful attempt.
$7 check processing fee per payment
Automatic payment option and no fee for paying via direct debit

SoFi

The Basics: With loan amounts as high as $100,000, SoFi is a good option for borrowers who need to pay off high-interest rate debt or plunk down a large sum to start a business or pay for college expenses. It offers a 0.25% AutoPay interest rate reduction for borrowers who pay their monthly installment automatically from their savings or checking account. Lose your job and can’t make a payment? SoFi has an unemployment protection feature that lets borrowers temporarily suspend their payments in three-month increments, for up to a year. The lender also offers job placement assistance if you become unemployed after taking out a loan.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
5.95% to 11.74% APR
You must be employed to qualify
Borrow anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000
Arizona, Massachusetts and New Hampshire residents are subject to a minimum loan amount of $10,001. Minimum loan amount for Kentucky residents in $15,0001. For all other borrowers, the minimum is $5,000
No origination fees or prepayment penalties
15-day grace period for late payments
Late fee of $5 or 4% of the payment due, whichever is lesser
Illinois, Mississippi and Nevada residents aren’t eligible for SoFi loans
Arkansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming residents are subject to a maximum 9.99% APR
SoFi offers job placement assistance and unemployment protection to temporarily pause payments, provided borrowers show proof of eligibility for unemployment insurance.

Prosper

The Basics: Another lender in the peer-to-peer lending space, Prosper offers borrowers with good credit a potential APR starting at 5.99%. Prosper assigns a rating — and interest rate — based on each borrower’s credit history, credit score and debt-to-income ratio. APRs go as high as 36% and borrowers must pay a non-refundable origination fee that ranges from 1% to 5% based on their Prosper rating.

What’s in the Fine Print:

Fixed-rate loan
5.99% to 36.00% APR
3-year or 5-year loan terms
Borrow anywhere from $2,000 to $35,000
Minimum FICO score of 640
No prepayment penalty or check processing fees
Origination fee of 1% to 5% that is deducted from the loan amount
Origination fee is part of loan principal and is subject to interest
Late fee of $15 or 5% of the monthly payment, whichever is greater
Vermont, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Maine and North Dakota residents aren’t eligible for Prosper loans
Prospect may report payment delinquencies of more than 30 days to credit bureaus

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