 TITLE: How to Get the Best Personal Loan for You CONTENT: Factors to Consider When Choosing a Personal Loan\n-------------------------------------------------\nWhen shopping for a personal loan, you'll need to consider five main factors:\n1.  Interest rates: The lower, the better.\n2.  Fees: Origination fees either become part of your loan balance or add to your upfront costs; again, less is more.\n3.  Loan term: A longer loan term will reduce your monthly payments; a shorter term means getting out of debt sooner and paying less over the life of the loan.\n4.  Loan amount: Personal loans in the range of $1,000 to $10,000 are typical, but some lenders offer up to $40,000 or more.\n5.  Features: These can range from good (incentives for paying on time) to limiting (prepayment penalties or restrictions on use). Read the details carefully.\nSo far, your choice is straightforward: The best loan for you has the lowest rate and fees, and a loan amount, term and features that best suit your purposes. But there's a sixth factor to consider: availability. The options available to you will depend most heavily on your creditworthiness. Your credit status, as well as income and assets in many cases, will determine which lenders—and individual loan programs—are likely to be a good match for you.\nWhy is credit so influential in the personal loan process? Although a few types of personal loans allow you to use collateral to help secure your loan, most are unsecured. If you default on an unsecured personal loan, there is no home or vehicle to repossess. The lender is relying on your credit history and proven ability to repay debt to assess the risk involved in giving you a loan. The lower your credit score, the higher the perceived risk. In turn, higher risk translates to higher rates and fees as a hedge against the possibility that you won't repay. END