Wells Fargo - awesome personal loan deals!

So, I stumbled upon this page today—unsecured loans with a fixed rate of 7.49% for existing customers and 7.99% for everyone else. Honestly, that seems like a pretty low rate for an unsecured loan. I’m thinking about using it to pay off my current loan at Citibank, which is sitting at 9.48%. I called them up, and they said it can definitely be used for debt consolidation. Plus, since I took out the original loan at Citibank back in late 2010, there shouldn't be any prepayment penalties.

Just a heads-up, this Bank of America offer is only good through the end of October. What do you guys think? Is it actually worth making the move? I wouldn't mind switching over to them as my main bank if it makes sense...

http://www.bankofamerica.com/loans/personal-loans

I checked out Citibank, Chase, Wells Fargo, and even Bank of America... everyone is sitting at a minimum of 8.5%, if not higher.

But I keep reading that loan volume has tanked because of this crisis, so maybe banks will start slashing rates just to get people through the door. What if I lock in this fixed rate now, but then rates keep sliding for the next year?? Maybe it’s smarter to just wait it out? :-(

Bank of America offers those kinds of loans because they’re looking to pull in as many new customers as possible. It’s just standard business practice, really. I actually just finished paying off a loan I took out with them about five years ago—back when I wasn't even an established client of theirs. Everything went smoothly without any hiccups.

So, I just got some more details on these loans.

1. They’re forcing automatic payroll deductions. Honestly, I’m not a fan. Up until now, my payments have always hit my checking account on a specific day we agreed upon, and if there isn't enough cash in there, they just wait until the next deposit hits. Simple as that.

2. If you want to make a partial early repayment—say, the loan is $15,000 and I want to drop $5,000 on it once I come into some money—nothing actually gets restructured. You still end up paying the interest rates originally agreed upon at the start.

3. The worst part: you have to pay for a risk or life insurance policy all at once. I already have a life insurance policy that I pay for monthly, and I’m just not feeling this. They say even if my existing coverage is enough, I still need their specific policy, which costs about $1,000! I'm not even sure if that can be rolled into the loan or not... I kind of stopped asking after that.

Those are my three big deal-breakers. This whole loan idea has gone downhill fast for me. Has anyone else dealt with this bank or others regarding these insurance policies? What kind of coverage are they actually looking for here?

crimsonviper14 said:So, I just got some more details on these loans.

1. They’re forcing automatic payroll deductions. Honestly, I’m not a fan. Up until now, my payments have always hit my checking account on a specific day we agreed upon, and if there isn't enough cash in there, they just wait until the next deposit hits. Simple as that.

2. If you want to make a partial early repayment—say, the loan is $15,000 and I want to drop $5,000 on it once I come into some money—nothing actually gets restructured. You still end up paying the interest rates originally agreed upon at the start.

3. The worst part: you have to pay for a risk or life insurance policy all at once. I already have a life insurance policy that I pay for monthly, and I’m just not feeling this. They say even if my existing coverage is enough, I still need their specific policy, which costs about $1,000! I'm not even sure if that can be rolled into the loan or not... I kind of stopped asking after that.

Those are my three big deal-breakers. This whole loan idea has gone downhill fast for me. Has anyone else dealt with this bank or others regarding these insurance policies? What kind of coverage are they actually looking for here?

So, I'm a (not so) happy customer of this bank 😍

Look, banks have their rules and they aren't about to budge. If they demand an automatic payroll deduction, good luck getting them to back off.

As for restructuring the loan, who knows. If I suddenly had extra cash, I'd rather just put it in a CD so the interest earned could offset what I'm paying them... That's what I'd do, anyway.

Yeah, I also have life insurance that I pay for. They'll accept it for specialized loans, but not for general ones. 😠 Ugh, and their risk policy seems pricey to me. Either the amount is too high or something's off... I don't know. Anyway, you can usually work out a deal to pay the risk fee directly out of the loan proceeds...

Hope that helps a bit...

Listen, everyone... I’m satisfied with how this loan went through. It seems like the best deal currently out there for personal loans; I’ve been shopping around for the last three months.

Today I took out a $5,000 loan for a 36-month term, with a monthly payment of $405.
The costs were basically this: notary fees for an amount like that came to $90, plus a $50 insurance premium. They ask about your health and family medical history, but nothing too invasive, I guess. It was probably the lowest rate available because my medical records are almost perfect. There was also a processing fee of about $40, and that’s pretty much all for extra costs.

Thanks for the input. I still need to double-check the details on that insurance policy; they didn't actually give me a specific number, so I was just guessing based on what a friend went through. It looks like his loan was way larger and stretched out longer than yours, quiettrucker. I'll probably look into it more...

For a $15,000 loan over 5 years, the insurance premium comes out to about $400—I just checked.

Now that I know the cost, I'll have to figure out if it's actually worth it.

Did you realize that the loan at JPMorgan Chase is actually backed by Allstate?

So don't be shocked when they refuse to recognize your current coverage.

When I was trying to get a loan somewhere else recently, they were totally fine with recognizing my existing policy.

But go ahead, ask them about setting up an insurance policy with someone like State Farm—I'd love to hear what they tell you.😁

The cost of an insurance policy really just depends on the coverage amount and how many years you're looking at.