Though your bank has a file for you, it is not accessible by competitive banks or financial lending institutions. Many people do not understand this because they are confusing the information the credit bureaus share any information that the banks don’t share. No bank can provide or discuss your personal affairs with another bank. In fact, they can’t say anything to another client about your affairs, and if they do they are in violation of your rights to client privacy like a lawyer/client and could be sued for doing so. They can put a collection claim on your credit Bureau report to tip off other would be lenders when you’re not being or acting responsible, but they can’t call other banks to tell them they are having a bad experience with you and your loan payments. Could you imagine the different loan officers and bank managers sitting around for a Sunday barbecue discussing all of the different clients who have back credit and have defaulted on their mortgage payments?

Looking at Your File from your Primary Bank’s Perspective

This client file has a detailed history of each application you have made in the past for credit through them. It may surprise you to learn that the first loan you apply for is still on file, even if it was declined. Each mortgage application decline for approved is shown. Each refinance application, if you refinance your home before, and each credit card applications you’ve completed at your bank is also on record.

The electronic application was developed to not only provide lenders with a historical picture for each client, but to centralize the approval and information process while moving more toward a paperless environment and a centralized records and management system. Whether you call the bank’s 1-800-number, walk into a branch or access their Internet website to complete an application, they all are saved the same way and on the same database. They are then routed to the same credit granting department. This is to say that it doesn’t matter what medium you choose to apply, the same people review your application for credit in most preferred banks.

Let’s assume that you’ve called the telephone application center’s phone number. You’ve answered all their questions, and while you’re on the phone they softly decline you by saying, “your application for credit has been declined for the following reason: low income, low net worth, poor credit, etc.” You feel that the person on the phone hasn’t taken your application fairly, or doesn’t understand something you’re trying to explain that may change things. They will likely refute you or refer you to speak to your home branch and to make a personal appointment with a lender.

There are a few reasons a call center may say this to you. They are measured each day on the amount of applications they can complete over the phone, how many actually get approved, and how long it takes them to complete each application. If the call center phone representative begins to suspect that they won’t be able to make your application work quickly, they will abandon their efforts and refer you to your branch to work it out. You then hang up, and they go to their next caller in their search to complete another application.

When you visit your home branch and its lender, they can electronically access, to review the application you completed over the phone, and can quickly review the notes the call center representative made to help them identify the weakness of the application. They will be able to make their own assessment to the facts, capture from your client interview new or missing details and resubmit your application to the same credit granting group that reviewed your application the first time. The only difference between going into a branch to complete your application, and doing it over the phone is that you are right across the desk of the person trying to help you. You are connected in a far different way and able to communicate using your tone of voice, body language, eyes, and facial expressions. You can address head-on any issue the lender may need to overcome to make your application work, and you feel a sense of community with your bank while going through the process that a telephone representative or Internet platform application can’t interpret.

It is easier to lobby for support when you’re visible; the lender is more likely to help position your information favorably because you’re sitting right there in front of them. They can evaluate what your presence and actions mean. They also can prepare an amendment to the application the phone representative completed in the first place.

Now don’t be misled! The lender sitting across from you has goals to meet and sales targets too, and isn’t likely to be an application again and again if they know that it won’t work. Another reason why it is so important to come prepared (and I recommend actually completing the application at a branch, not a call center or an Internet website) so the lender can submit a solid, clear and simple application to their credit granting department the first time. This avoids credit departments asking lender, “why is this client applying on the phone, faxing a paper application and now seeing you in person? Don’t they know we’re going to decline them again?”

If you like rules to live by, then these are the rules to use when seeking a loan so your chances of being approved or better;

One) never rush into borrowing and signing papers.
Two) make your first effort the best.
Three) be prepared and know your financial readiness before applying.
Four) have a firm grasp on your debts and repayment history information.

Alternate Delivery Applications (usually Credit Cards)

What sometimes doesn’t show on your file is an application for a credit card through an alternate delivery process. Alternate delivery is a paper-based application you’ve picked up through a brochure your bank puts out that you fax to a centralized location for processing. Usually these will show up in your mailbox, and by mailbox I mean the real one attached to the front of your house. Sometimes a mail out preapproval application is sent to your home address by your financial institution that you been accepted. As you did not complete the application in person in a branch, it is likely the only evidence they have is the paper copy of your manual application form. Though these are reduced and stored on a piece of film, they are not electronically accessible by any lender in any city. They would need to order a copy of this information from their records management department and wait a few days for a copy to arrive. As this adds little value while completing your new credit application, and takes time to request, lenders don’t usually require this historical information. Having said all that, they do review your prior applications for credit while completing your new application. This allows them to see if your job stability is all you say it is, along with your income levels, marital status and current address.

Does Your Bank Know Too Much?

Is it possible for your bank to know too much about you, given they have had you for a long time as their client? Consider for the moment that you walked down the street to the other bank, completed their application with the same information as your bank has, and were approved. How could this happen? Let’s look at Mr. Roberts again.

It turns out that Mr. Roberts quit his job the previous month, and when he was asked to provide his income tax slip from the IRS with his notice of assessment the lender assumed he was still employed. After all Mr. Roberts came prepared with a copy of his credit Bureau report from all three major credit bureaus, all his income verification and knew the rates of loans currently being offered. He was well-prepared, and it was assumed he was still working with the same company. Mr. Roberts had since accepted a new job with a different company doing the same thing as before, and was confident he would be able to pay for the new loan before he decided to apply.

The lender at this financial institution didn’t ask any further questions about his employment stability (which they should have) and processes application. Mr. Roberts would have answered the truth had the lender required more information about his employment, and perhaps being required at that time to provide additional information regarding his new job.

Well, the lender at his bank had known him for 15 years, and also knew the manager of the company Mr. Roberts worked for. While out on a business lunch the manager of the company mentioned to that lender that Mr. Roberts just quit one day, and never came back. With that extra bit of privileged information, the bank manager declined to process Mr. Roberts application thinking he was unemployed. The bank manager didn’t know he had a new job, and that his probationary period was over in two months. The bank down the street didn’t know Mr. Roberts for his employer, and we’re not aware of the same privileged information, and therefore it was not used in their assessment of the risk in lending to him. They took his application, keyed in the information they extracted from Mr. Roberts prepared information package and positioned it for approval.

Continued in the Carol’s Borrowing Series Category of Clf.

It is a good thing (arguably) that in the United States we can get loans or readily borrow with bad credit and shaky financial portfolios – we have better odds at finding an opportunity for a second chance. In other countries you may not get a second and third chance, and be thrown into the bad credit category – left to fend for yourself for five to seven years.

This may mean that you are in a bankruptcy, or you are what I call a “virtual bankruptcy”, whereby lenders refuse to lend you any money whatsoever. If your credit dries up, which it can — even if you are not in personal bankruptcy, such as Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, then you will be forced to change your lifestyle immediately. No longer can you afford to spend, or waste, money on “items of desire” instead of “items of need”.

So if you are one of those visitors who is looking for a personal loan that is short-term do not feel insulted because a short term loan may be all you need to clean up your personal debts and get yourself straightened around.

If you are looking for a personal loan for debt consolidation purposes this means you are already (hopefully) on the right track and your financial horizon may be getting rosier.

We have seen many many different types of personal loans being searched for on this web site, including personal loans for motorcycles, motor homes, vacations, furniture, college educations, computers, laptops, desktops, and a host of different electronic devices.

We have also seen thousands of people searching for surgery loans and medical expense loans. We see people looking for personal loans so they can get breast augmentation, liposuction, laser treatments, face-lifts, botox treatments, and the list keeps going on and on. I would suggest that if you are looking for a loan for elective surgery and you have a lot of other bad debts already you need to consider holding off on your surgery or borrowing money for it.

We see people searching for loans for legal help such as pre-settlement loans or what some call lawsuit loans. These kinds of loans are usually provided by lawyers and their legal offices hedging that you will win a pending court case and retrieve a substantial windfall of money in the process.

Lawyers and attorneys will not likely take chances on providing lawsuit loans when their clients are not absolutely 100% truthful in the discovery process. You must give your lawyer solid and truthful information so that they can best defend you as a plaintiff in the case. This is critical so that you have the best possible chance of winning the case and getting paid by the insurance company.

You may think this is strange, but if you have ever worked at a bank you would know how compartmentalized banks can be, and understand that those in the banking industry can be sadly inept when it comes to handling their own finances.

When I first started writing on CLF I was very excited to be contributing to a team effort and being part of a good team of experienced finance writers. However, I have been pleasantly exposed to some of the other writers on the Internet who are consistently contributing to the conversation.

Because our theme here is based around the practice of borrowing money, and leveraging money, we are seeing traffic from a lot of people trying to borrow money when they are in dire straits. It has been heartbreaking to see what people are actually typing into the search engines – searches like; “help! desperate for a bad credit personal loan because of divorce”. Sometimes it’s medical bills or their home burnt down without insurance. Sometimes it’s people struggling still in New Orleans from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina

In some cases people are victims of plain bad luck, and in other cases people don’t have any kind of knowledge regarding how to manage their money. If you are one of the people in the latter example, you can use some of these free online resources to learn about money and personal financing.

I remember a time not long ago when the only way to read about personal financing was to read books on the subject, and most people wouldn’t invest in a book about money management. Those times have changed because of the Internet and now you can learn about personal money management free of charge. This is exciting to me.

As part of my voluntary involvement at California Loan Find I visit other money management blogs and take part in their discussions. I like that even more that writing my own posts sometimes, and I would like to list just a few of the blogs that I have been visiting and reading. You can learn from these writers, and I hope you spend some time on their blogs.

Make comments and take part in the discussion to get the most out of your experience. You can learn so many ways to get your personal financing under control. Try and keep an open mind as you read because you will be exposed to some really good advice – and you will be asking yourself, “wow, I’ve never thought of doing that, or “I never thought of it that way”.

I also encourage you find a good blog feed reader, and add some of their RSS feeds to your brand new RSS feed reader. This way you can stay up to date and keep your education going.

I would like to list some personal financing blogs for you to discover, read, and maybe even become an active participant. Don’t be afraid to ask questions because there is no such thing as a stupid or embarrassing question. Furthermore, you will find that the writers and readers are generally kind.

So here goes – my first list of great personal financing blogs. There are so many that I won’t list them all here – just ten for now. I hope to get around to all of them over the time though. I have linked to some of their latest posts of interest.

Great Places To Learn About Money Management

1. What To Do When Relatives Ask For Loans – this piece is excellent and I read it on the Free Money Finance blog. Take special note that they are referencing another resource on the same subject where you can read even more on the subject.

2. Good Time To Think About Refinancing Your Mortgage: I might save $50,000! – this is on the My Money Blog.

3. Listening to the Sage Financial Advice of my Grandmother – this is on the Financial Hack blog and it has some beautiful thoughts and was written by “Beks”

4. Don’t Tell Me Your Money Problems – written by David Mitchell at PFAdvice.com – the sad reality of people venting their financial problems.

5. X Ways To Save Money With Your Credit Card -  this is all about what the title says and it was written by Marcel and posted on Financial Dominance

6. Applying For a Credit Card – The Credit Card Bill of Rights – this reveals some of the new laws on the books to protect consumers in the United States, and a lot more. Another good blog called the Digeratilife.

7. Five Tricks I Used to Pay Off My Credit Card – this was written by Stephanie at Poorer Than You. There is a lot of good information for college students worth reading.

8. – When Is It Ok To Spend a Little? – this was written by Nicole over at The Budgeting Babe which is a Blogger blog, which is a great place for you to start your own blog for free and with ease.

9. – 5 Tips To Help Your Bank Account Survive the Holiday Season in Uncertain Economic Times - this was written at 22Dollars. Very good writer here just like the others in my first list of personal finance writers.

10 – Store-Brand Grocery Items are 74% Cheaper Than Name-Brand – this is a perfect example of another good writer than give you tips on how to save money on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.

Happy reading. I encourage you to read all of these article and browse around their blogs for scads of good information. I will post ten more when the mood arises.

There aren’t too many people who go through life without borrowing money. And, of course, there are pros and cons. The advantages of borrowing are that we often borrow money to make money, such as for investment purposes; and, it allows us to enjoy things while we earn the money to pay for them, such as buying a home or car. The disadvantage of borrowing is that it adds considerably to the cost of whatever it is we are borrowing for.

Although there are many guidelines bandied about as to how much a person should or should not borrow, there is really only one that has universal application: don’t borrow money that you can’t afford to repay when it is due. Even at that, there is a right and wrong way to borrow.

One of the first rules of borrowing is to shop around. A difference of half a percentage point can meet a lot of money over the life of a loan. Most Californians still have the mistaken impression that all banks, trust companies and other lending institutions are alike, offering the same services at the same rates with the same criteria for granting loans. Yet anyone who shops for a loan quickly discovers that while lenders are similar, rates do differ, as to lending limits and criteria for granting loans. And deed, these can also vary among branches of the same institution.

It’s a recognized fact of banking, for example, just how much manager discretion varies, as does their willingness to take risks. Go to where the banks are hungry. You often have a better chance of getting what you want by going to a new branch in the suburbs than to an institution’s main branch. Even so, your goal is to get an institution to lend you the money you really need. The first step in achieving this is to know what the lending institution will ask for, so you won’t be caught off guard.

Be prepared, when walking into any lending institution, to offer specific and detailed information about your income, debts and monthly payments. Of equal importance, you should know the current value of your home, car, insurance, investment portfolio and any other assets. Also prepare an up-to-date list of your liabilities.

Even if you owe a lot of money at the moment, lenders are usually impressed when applicants walk in with a brief personal statement in their hands. This in it’s self will often make the difference in marginal cases. Any lending institution will want a loan application form filled out either by you or the interviewer. This usually consists of a personal statement listing income, debts and monthly payments, assets and liabilities and employment history. You will also be asked to sign a form giving the lender authority to make inquiries about you to a credit bureau. Borrowers are often unaware as to how much weight is given stable employment. An employment history of five to 10 years with one company often makes the difference, but
obviously not always. A person who switches jobs to gain income, added responsibility, or both, is unlikely to be rejected for this reason. Similarly, a stable residency is a good sign that you’re not apt to skip town without paying back a loan. Lenders also like to know about a spouse’s income and generally want the spouse’s guarantee.