Living Without A Job Does Not Have To Be Tough: Unemployment Loans Explained

Unemployment is not a good time for anybody. With cash inflows being tight, as a stable source of income has been lost, it is hard to manage personal finances and stay on top of ongoing obligations. With unemployment benefits, offered by government, being very limiting, it may be difficult to cover basic life expenses for some people, not even considering credit card payments, loans, and mortgages. Many people, while looking for a job, consider a loan to cover temporary cash flow shortage; however, with steady employment being on the top of the requirements list of most lenders, getting a loan is often a problem.There are lenders who addressed the issue with temporary unemployment during recession by developing unemployment loan products. As government only provides unemployment benefits equaling roughly 50% of the previous earnings, such loans provide a safety net, until another job is found by the borrower. While people with good credit have the best chances of approval, all credit grades are eligible to apply for unemployment loans.Loan Options For UnemployedUnemployment loans are similar to other loans. There are secured and unsecured unemployment loans available. The choice between the two typically depends on the needs of the borrower. If a large amount of money is required for prolonged term, secured unemployment loan may be the only option. Otherwise, a wide array of unsecured options is available for unemployed individuals.Secured loans feature amounts as high as $75,000 and up to 25 years to repay. In fact, secured loans are very similar to home equity loans, as they require collateral in form of a home equity. Besides larger amounts and longer terms, secured unemployment loans also have extremely low interest rates, as they pose less risk to lenders. In case you are not a homeowner, you may take advantage of an unsecured loan.Unsecured loan amount vary from $1,000 to $25,000, depending on your needs, duration, and your ability to repay. While they commonly have shorter repayment terms, ranging from several months to 5 years, some lenders offer extended terms up to 10 years. As unsecured loans are riskier when compared to secured loans, lenders assign higher interest rates, resulting in higher monthly payments or lower loan amounts. Getting an unsecured unemployment loan is typically not an issue to individuals with good credit history. Borrowers with past credit blemishes may consider a creditworthy co-borrower, as doing so increases the chance of approval and lowers overall borrowing cost.Unemployment Loan Application ProcessUnemployment loans are easily found online, and feature very basic qualification criteria and fast processing times. A borrower needs to be of legal age and status and has to have a checking account open for at least 4 months preceding the loan application. Having positive payment tack in the past does help a lot, but is not required by lenders. Applications are processed electronically, saving you a trip to the lending office. Upon pre-approval, some documentation may be required to be submitted to lender for verification purposes. Once all the paperwork is done, a loan agreement is signed and loan proceeds are transferred to the bank account of the borrower.