8 Point Checklist: Evaluating Online Vendors

Here are 8 things to consider, when evaluating lenders online:

Website Design

About Us

Popularity

Reputation

Short Form

Points, Fees, Terms and Rates

Communication

1. Website Design:

The webpage is, in fact, the storefront of the internet. In the real world, your first impressions make all the difference. Well, it's no different on the internet.

Does the site seem forth-right? Can you glean valuable information immediately, or does it appear that you are being pushed to click here, click there?

Does the page load fast, indicative of a reliable server, or does it seem to take forever for everything to be displayed (or worse, are you receiving various error messages).

Are there a ridiculous amount of pop-ups, pop-unders, and other in-your-face ad campaigns, or, does the lender simply put it all out there for you to decide?

Examine the website design, and trust your first impressions.

2. Privacy Policy:

You will likely be sharing some personal information, in exchange for loan offers. You shouldn't be so concerned about this that it limits your ability to reach out to possible lenders. However, use your common sense.

Does the website post its privacy policy? If so, take a quick peak at it.

Does it seem to make sense, and is it reasonable?

Virtually all trustworthy online businesses now have posted privacy policies to both assure you of their intent, and to comply with current laws and regulations.

3. About Us:

Does the lender post an "about us" page?

If not, this could be a red flag. In other words, the lender should take pride in its history, its vision, and its mission statement. An "about us" page is an opportunity for your lender to tell you a little bit about themselves. If you don't see it, then what are they hiding?

On the other hand, if you do see an "about us" page, go check it out. How long have they been in business? Where are they located? Do they post a phone number, and do they provide contact information? What are their policies and philosophies?

Reading the "about us" page can tell you tremendous information about the lender.

4. Popularity:

Take your lender's website address, and plug it into Alexa.Com. Alexa is a tool, created by the folks at Amazon, to evaluate traffic on the internet, and to provide a venue for visitors to post critiques of websites.

Popularity is gauged by the Alexa rating, and the lower the number, the higher the rating. For example, our site, http://loanresources.net , as of today's date, has a 3 month average Alexa Rating of 86,517. This means that we are one of the top 100,000 websites in terms of traffic (and popularity). If we get down to let's say 50,000, then our traffic and popularity has increased.

You can use this tool to evaluate the traffic of your prospective lenders.

Our advice is this: Don't be blinded by popularity alone. There are plenty of competitive lenders and mortgage brokers out there with the highest integrity, which may not, necessarily, have a favorable Alexa rating. It doesn't mean that they shouldn't be considered. It is simply a measurement of traffic, and that's it. Don't miss out on what they have to offer.

Just use popularity as one of the many tools at your disposal, when evaluating online lenders.

5. Reputation:

There are a number of ways to evaluate a lender's reputation. Talking to friends, family, and associates, of course, is one way. Another method is to see whether or not the prospective lender is a member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB at BBB.Com), and if there are any complaints on record filed against them.

The BBB produces what's called a "Reliability Report", and this report will provide you with corporate information (such as name, address, phone number), BBB membership information, whether or not the lender is a participant of the "BBB Online" program, along with a complaint history, and each complaints final resolution.

The report also states the overall rating that they give the lender. Remember we discussed earlier, that popularity is not everything? Here's a prime example. You'd be surprised how many "popular" lenders, may in fact carry a rather lengthy BBB Reliability report filled with a variety of complaints.

Again, just use your good, common sense, and consider reputation alongside all other factors.

Also, if you see something on the reliability report that may be concerning you, talk to your prospective lender, and see if they can give you a reasonable explanation for what happened.

6. Short-Form:

Complete an online "short form" application, and within minutes, several competitive loan offers could be making their way to you.

Consider the short form application, when evaluating the lender. Is it short indeed, or are they asking you for way too much information?

Be expected to share some basic information about yourself, such as name, phone number, salary information, etc., but never disclose what you feel is too personal or compromising, such as a social security number, credit card numbers, etc.

Does the short-form make sense, is it well organized, and is it simple for you to follow and understand? This is important, because if the form is easy to complete, the lender may be saying that their whole loan process is simple and easy. On the other hand, if the form is arduous and complex, what does that tell you?

So, evaluate your comfort level with the context of each lender's short form application online.

7. Points, Fees, Terms, and Rates:

After you complete the online short-form, prospective loan offers will almost instantly be making their way to you.

These preliminary loan offers will present you with important information about the points, fees, terms, and rates being offered.

This, of course, is the nuts and bolts of what you are evaluating?This is the dollars and cents of your preliminary loan offers.

Obtain several offers, and compare them to each other.

Who offers the best savings? Who seems too low to believe? Who is way too high to consider?

Check the current rates and see how these offers compare. We've got a RateWatch set up at our website, or, you can find other resources from any search engine.

8. Communication:

After you've obtained several loan offers, it will be time to talk to your prospective lenders over the phone.

Do not fear this process. Remember, you are the buyer of this product, and you are in the driver's seat. Think of it as an interview, and you are in charge. Ask some good questions, and see if you are comfortable with the relationship forming.

How does the lender strike you over the phone? Is it someone that you feel you could do business with, or, does the conversation seem forced and uncomfortable?

Use the phone call to evaluate the relationship, and to obtain useful information.

Do not make an immediate decision. Talk to 3 or 4 lenders, and then take a pause, and evaluate what you've learned.

Use your instincts to gauge who you worked well with, and who might present challenges down the road.

We've enjoyed providing this information to you, and we wish you the best of luck in your pursuits. Remember to always seek out good advice from those you trust, and never turn your back on your own common sense.

Publisher's Directions:

This article may be freely distributed so long as the copyright, author's information, disclaimer, and an active link (where possible) are included.

About The Author

Tom Levine provides a solid, common sense approach to solving problems and answering questions relating to consumer loan products. His website seeks to provide free online resources for the consumer, including rate-watch, tips and articles, financial communication, news, and links to products and services. You can check out Tom's website here: http://loanresources.net, or you can email Tom at info@loanresources.net.

RELATED ARTICLES

How to Get a Business Loan in Five Steps
Need funds to startup or expand your business? Follow these steps:

Law Practice Finance
How do you finance a growing practice? It is impossible to have a successful practice without good cases and managing good cases to a successful conclusion requires money for working capital. So, how does a growing practice secure the working capital it needs?

About Personal Loans
What are personal loans? They are unsecured loans that a borrower obtains for various purposes. This type of loan is often used to consolidate outstanding debt into one monthly payment, but it can be used for other things such as paying for a wedding, a vacation, or something similar. It is an unsecured loan because the borrower doesn't put any assets up as collateral.

Instant Cash Advance Loans - Take Advantage of The Convenience of The Payday Loans Available Online
Cash advance loans not only provide you with instant cash, they also allow you to complete the entire process online from the convenience of your home. No driving between offices and banks. No waiting in lines. No curious onlookers. You online cash advance loan is quick and private.

Bad Credit Personal Loans ? Pertinent Pedestal for a Financial Resumption
In the arena of loan borrowing, there is hardly an opponent more difficult to tackle than bad credit. Bad credit implies that your personal credit history is integral and decisive in making the personal loan available for you. Bad credit history is like very probable. It is not that you have not been repaying loans, sometimes financial accidents happen. And this might happen without any particular effort from your side. This leads to bad credit. Bad credit in simplest terms means that you are a high risk borrower and likely to make faulty loans repayments. You might say this conclusion is unfair. So is it hard to get bad credit personal loans. I say - no. Increasingly financial institutions have become flexible in their outlook towards personal loans application with bad credit.

Dos and Donts: Student loans
Parents should begin saving money early for their children's college education because of the high costs and expectations that parents will pay part of the costs associated with the education. Several stock mutual funds are recommended.

Get your Dream Car ? Get a Car Loan
You've probably spent years thinking that your dream car is out of your reach. But have you though about a car loan? That car you've always wanted could be just within your grasp!

Many People Have Realized the Convenience and Benefits of Online Personal Loans
The Internet has provided a whole new dimension to obtaining a personal loan. Before lending companies were available on the World Wide Web, people were limited with their loan options and from where they could get a loan. Now there are endless financial resources available to people, no matter what their credit situation may be. With so many sources to lenders available online, you can often find loan deals that beat out the interest rates and loan terms you can find at local banks and credit unions.

A Guide to Getting a Debt Consolidation Loan UK
If you're getting in over your head with credit, you might consider getting a debt consolidation loan UK . This loan is designed to pay off at least a portion if not all of your outstanding debts, allowing you to have either reduced payments or in some cases only the single payment of the loan itself to repay.

What is a Homeowner Loan?
A Homeowner Loan is a way of using the equity tied up in your property to raise money. Equity is the difference between the value of your home and your outstanding mortgage. Many lenders are willing to convert this equity into cash in the form a secured homeowner loan, which means that the loan is guaranteed by your property.

What is an Auto Loan?
An Auto loan is basically another name for a car loan. An auto loan is an agreement between a lender and a borrower in which the lender gives the borrower money and the borrower promised to pay back the amount of the loan and the interest. Auto loans are only offered for the purpose of purchasing a vehicle.

Fast Payday Cash Loans
Do you need fast cash to get your car fixed so you can drive it to work tomorrow? Is that computer you want on sale till Friday, but you're $100 short - and payday is Tuesday? If you need cash for something NOW and know that you'll be able to repay it in full on your next payday, then a payday cash loan may be just what you need to get you through.

Benefits of a Bad Credit Personal Loan
Outlined here are some of the many benefits of a Bad Credit Personal Loan. Bad credit personal loans are increasingly popular these days. A poor credit history can happen to anybody � at any time. Perhaps you need a bad credit loan because you missed some payments on a previous loan, got into mortgage arrears, had a County Court Judgement against you or problems with your credit cards. Perhaps it was due to circumstances outside your control, because of a divorce or redundancy, for example.

Want a Cheaper Finance for Your Vehicle? Try Secured Automobile Loans
The usual modus operandi in most automobile purchases is as follows:

Bad Credit Personal Loan - A Pay Day Loan May Be Your Best Option, No Credit Check
If you have bad credit, have an emergency and need some fast cash, an instant pay day loan online could be a quick solution for you. With online pay day loans, the lender does not pull your credit, so it doesn't matter how poor your credit history is. Adverse credit will not hold you back from getting an instant cash loan. Pay day loan lenders will just need to verify your income with pay check stubs. They will also usually want to see bank statements to make sure you have an active checking account. The pay day loan or cash advance lender may want to verify some of your other information. Each online pay day loan company is different.

Secured Business Loans ? Equipping Your Business Blueprint With Concrete Groundwork
Somebody once said, 'Business is not financial science; it's about trading, buying and selling. It's about creating a product or service so good that people will pay for it.' So you are full of ideas and ready to take on the world. No matter how striking your business idea is, it still needs a solid foundation to work on. Without a concrete financial plan your business plan might not be as feasible as it might seem on the pages, realistically speaking. Secured business loans give you the opportunity that you need to be financially independent. Being a homeowner will provide you with more to bank upon than you realize. A business loan by keeping your home as a warranty is the just the right way to get started.

Loan Basics
There is more than one type of loan. Depending upon your situation, you might find that what works in one circumstance does not work in another. This means that it is very important for you to educate yourself about different kinds of loans so that you are more prepared when you speak with a lending officer, or with a financial counselor. It is especially important that you understand what the different sorts of loans entail so that you are not pushed into making a wrong decision by a lender that is more interested in a percentage rather than your financial well being.

Benefits of a Home Owner Loan
There are many benefits for choosing a Home Owner Loan, some of which are listed below:

Guide to Bridging Loans
Here is a useful guide to bridging loans. This is a loan that is usually taken out to solve a temporary cash shortfall that may arise when buying a property or business. It's basically a very short term mortgage. Like a mortgage, it's a loan that is "secured" against property.

Taking the Time to Find the Best UK Loans
When looking for UK loans, it's always important to take your time so that you can compare loan rates and terms from a variety of lenders.

home | site map | www.1001topwords.com