A tale of two platforms

[sidinz]

So when my bank left me high and dry at settlement time due to a last-minute change of requirements, I needed to find another $20K urgently to be able to settle.

So I applied to both Harmoney and Squirrel Money. A clear picture has emerged re their cultural differences.

Squirrel's website stated openly that they were only looking for quality borrowing prospects and those with poor histories need not apply. Their application fee is $125 less and they undertook more checks. So more hoops to jump through and they took longer (a day or two) to make a decision. They approved my $20K at a rate of 12.2%.

Harmoney, on the other hand, after requiring a lesser financial history, approved me quite quickly for $5k more than I asked for at 18.52%.

You have to feel sorry for those bad money managers already targeted by rapacious finance companies that now they have another outfit practically encouraging them to stay within the debt cycle.

[AlexL]

That is some high interest rates there! Did they consider your existing assets as securities for this loan?
Also out of curiosity, Will you be adding value to your property and refinancing, or will you be getting the 20k from else where to repay asap?

I've often considered financing from lenders outside of banks for development purposes, but only if their interest rates were comparable vs banks.

[sidinz]

Yes, I'll be refinancing as soon as the renos are finished. No security was offered to either company, although one of them (can't remember which) gave an option of being able to do so.

[Anthonyacat]

I was of the understanding that Squirrel only did secured loans. Obviously that's changed since they first proposed their operating model. I'm sure you would have got a better rate if you had, but it's likely to only be for a short time and only on $20k, probably doesn't matter much.