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Make Sure Your Loan is Approved

Nobody likes getting turned down for a loan, and although the Energy People Federal Credit Union makes every effort to approve all loan requests, it's sometimes necessary to deny an application.  When this happens, it's important to remember that the credit union is protecting the applicant's financial health as well as its own.

When the credit union denies a loan, it's because the applicant has either a poor credit history, or a high debt-to-income ratio.  Your debt-to-income ratio is the percentage of your total debt compared to income.  For example, if each month you pay $400 toward debt with $1,000 gross (before tax) monthly income, your debt-to-loan ratio is 40%.

Although there is no magic ratio to shoot for, a rough guide-line is that total debt should not exceed 45% of total income.  the credit union also weighs other factors, and requirements vary for different loans.  Often when a rate is high, the culprit is credit card debt.  People forget that a credit card charge is a loan.  With card companies sending out millions of solicitations each year, some consumers easily fall into the trap of spending up to their credit card limit on one card, and then acquiring another.

If your loan request gets rejected, here are a few things you can do to improve your chances for approval on your next application:

  • Devise a plan to pay off old loans including credit card balances thus reducing your debt-to-income ratio.

  • You may qualify to consolidate your loans and credit card balances into one loan at the Energy People Federal Credit Union; then stop charging routine expenses.

  • Avoid overusing credit cards and don't take every offer you receive

  • Get a handle on your budget by comparing what you spend with what you earn.  A budget can help you trim expenses and funnel money toward paying off old debts.

  • Fix your broken credit history.  The Energy People Federal Credit Union will work with a member who is sincere about re-establishing good credit.  This may involve such strategies as making a plan to gradually pay off debts extending a small signature loan to rebuild good credit standing or extending a loan guaranteed by a co-signer or collateral.

  • Bolster your income with a second job - temporarily - to help trim your debt.

Bankruptcy Ain't Cheap

A national credit counseling expert says consumers pay more - a lot more - for credit after filing bankruptcy.  Steve Rhode, president and founder of Myvesta.org, says families with clean credit pay an average of $1,100 each month for mortgage and auto loans.   Because of higher interest rates, a post-bankruptcy family pays almost $1,900 for the same items.

  • A mortgage of $132,930, with a fixed interest rate of 6.75% for 30 years, translates to a monthly payment of $862.  For post-bankruptcy filers, the interest rate jumps to 13%, and a monthly payment of $1,470.

  • An auto loan of $17,000, with an interest rate of 9% for a five-year term, translates to a monthly payment of $353.  After bankruptcy, the interest rate jumps to 15%, and a monthly payment of $404.

  • The average credit card interest rate jumps from 17% to 24% for people who've filed bankruptcy.  With a credit card debt of $2.800 at 17%, you'd need about 32 years to pay off the debt by making only minimum payments.  At 24%, you never would pay off the credit card debt; interest costs would keep payments going for eternity

If you're concerned about your debt load, ask someone at Energy People Federal Credit Union for Referral to a nonprofit credit counselor.  You may be able to find cheaper and less painful solutions.