SoFi is an online lender specializing in personal loans, mortgages, student loans, and student loan refinancing. A SoFi personal loan offers competitive interest rates and a transparent lending process for borrowers with good credit scores and high incomes.
Unlike other lenders, SoFi uses a unique underwriting process that evaluates your career, income and expenses, financial history, and education. SoFi rewards a strong loan application with low interest rates.
Loan applicants with thin credit are also encouraged to apply, so if you’re fresh out of college with a good job or have been in the workforce but haven’t accumulated a lengthy credit history, a SoFi loan could be a good choice for you.
Read on to find out what kind of loan terms SoFi offers, how to apply for a loan, and how to decide which loan product is the best fit.
SoFi Personal Loans
SoFi offers personal loans with both fixed rates and variable rates. Loan funds can be used for personal, family, or household purposes, but not for education expenses.
You can save money with a 0.25% discount on your interest rate if you elect to sign up for autopay, which automatically deducts your balance from your savings or checking account each month.
When you enroll in autopay, fixed-rate loans range between 5.99% APR and 20.01% APR.
*All rates, repayment terms, state availability, and savings calculations are current at the time this article was written. Rates, repayment terms, state availability, and savings calculations may update in the future. For current rates and terms, visit SoFi.com.
Loan Terms
They offer loan terms between 2 – 7 years. The minimum loan amount is $5,000, and the maximum is $100,000, although higher loan amounts are available to the strongest applicants.
SoFi prides itself on offering a transparent process that is quick and easy. There are no origination fees, closing fees, late fees, or prepayment penalties, so it’s easy to understand precisely how much your loan actually costs.
All SoFi personal loans are unsecured, meaning there is no collateral required. Personal loans are not available in Mississippi, and some of the loan requirements may vary depending on where you live due to specific state regulations.
When you take out a loan, SoFi reports your payments to all three credit bureaus, so it can help your credit as long as you pay on time each month.
Borrower Profile
SoFi’s underwriting standards are quite different from traditional lenders. Of course, your credit score is important, but other factors weigh more heavily, including a flawless payment history, a high-income potential, and the type of industry you work in.
Most borrowers have good to excellent credit scores. It’s ok if your credit history isn’t very long, as long as your cash flow can cover your new loan amount on top of your regular day-to-day expenses. The minimum credit score required to qualify for a SoFi personal loan is 680. The median gross income is $106,000.
There are no set limits to the length of your credit history or your debt to income (DTI) ratio. Most lenders want to see no more than a 36% DTI, but SoFi might be more lenient if you demonstrate that you have the financial means to meet all of your payments each month.
SoFi Application Process
SoFi has a simple and easy online application. If you have any issues, you can contact a live customer service representative seven days a week.
The first step in the loan application process is to pre-qualify for a personal loan with SoFi. This allows you to check what loan rates you’re eligible for, with the added benefit of not having a hard pull affect your credit score. The pre-approval process is quick and easy; in fact, it takes less than two minutes.
Start by creating an account with your name, state of residence, email, and password. Once you do that, you’ll enter some information about your education and employment history. The good thing is that you don’t have to enter your Social Security number at this point.
Next, SoFi will present you with several loan options, including fixed and variable interest rates. To receive the lowest rate, you must sign up for the auto-pay option. Once you review your choices, you can select the loan you’d like to receive.
Your next step is to upload copies of requested documents that verify both your identity and income. This likely includes pay stubs and bank statements. SoFi then checks your information, including a hard credit check, and ideally approves your loan. If you have
Once You’re Approved
When your application is approved, SoFi sends a loan agreement that requires an electronic signature. You’ll then receive a quick phone call where a staff member confirms your address.
After that, your funds are disbursed to your bank account within a few short business days. Payments for fixed-rate loans are due on the 1st of each month, and variable rate loans are due on the 10th of each month.
SoFi currently has no late fees. Your payment options include electronic ACH transfer, bill pay through your bank, or paper check.
Unemployment Protection
If you lose your job (and it wasn’t your fault), you can apply for Unemployment Protection, which is essentially a temporary forbearance on your loan payments.
You can suspend making payments in three-month increments for up to 12 months. However, you’re limited to 12 months total for the entire life of the loan, not for each bout of unemployment.
Interest continues to accrue during unemployment protection and will be added to your principal balance at the end of the forbearance period. In the meantime, you must qualify for and receive federal unemployment benefits.
You must also work with SoFi’s career strategy department in finding a new job. When you begin repaying the loan again, your payment should reflect your new monthly balance including the additional interest that accrued.
SoFi’s History
SoFi began in 2011 as a student loan company for young graduates with high levels of income. The three founders met at Stanford’s graduate business school and started off with a pilot program at their alma mater.
SoFi personal loans were initially aimed at current students and funded by alumni. Since then, SoFi no longer focuses solely on universities and has branched out to include mortgages and personal loans. Accordingly, the company moved from alumni-backed loans to a more traditional investor model.
SoFi Personal Loan Reviews
One of the best ways to research online lenders is by reading third-party reviews. You can discover what actual customers are saying about them before you choose to do business with them.
SoFi currently has a Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of A, which is an indicator of great customer service. They also have very few complaints. You can find more SoFi Personal Loan reviews at other review sites as well.
Advice for Taking Out a SoFi Personal Loan
Before you jump on the chance to take out a personal loan with SoFi, consider these few simple steps to ensure you’re making the best financial decision.
Shop Around for the Best Product
Look at several online lenders before making a decision on which SoFi loan is best for you. Most pre-approval applications only require a soft credit check, so it doesn’t affect your credit score in any way.
If you have a high credit score and strong income, there are other options to explore depending on your financial needs.
For debt consolidation, consider paying off credit card debt with a balance transfer credit card offering 0% interest rates. As long as you can afford the payments and pay off the balance within the introductory rate period, you could save a lot of money.
Another option to access funds is to tap into your home equity. With a good to excellent credit score and equity in your property, you could easily qualify for a home equity line of credit or cash-out refinance, both of with may have lower rates even than a personal loan.
Calculate Your Payments
Qualifying for a loan, no matter how small or large, doesn’t automatically mean you can afford the monthly payments. Once you get pre-approved and find out your offered interest rate and loan term, plug the numbers into a repayment calculator to compare your options.
Consider both your payment amount and how much you’ll be paying in interest over time. Remember that a lower monthly payment could result in a higher amount of interest paid.
Review Your Credit
Before applying for any loan, double-check the information on your credit report to ensure it is accurate. This is especially helpful when applying for a loan through a company like SoFi because payment history is such a big factor in your approval.
Start by ordering each report from the three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You can get them for free once a year. Then, scan each page thoroughly to make sure there is nothing out of line.
Complete this step at least a month before you plan on applying for a personal loan because it could take that long for the credit bureaus to make any updates.
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