feeling a loan

I drove up the street to the local branch of OneMain financial, and was disgusted to see a handwritten sign taped to the facility's front door: "Back at 3:30PM." I wasn't about to wait that long, so I got in my car, drove to nearby Marshall, Virginia, where the nearest PNC Bank branch is, and waited for a staffer to help me out. The lone loan consultant, J, was out at the time on an errand, but she materialized after about ten minutes, and we got down to business.

I confessed to J that I had tried OneMain for a loan last year, and had been rejected because of my poor debt-to-income ratio. I said, though, that things had improved since early 2012, because I was now working many more hours thanks to my involvement with the content-creation team (yay, me). J nodded gamely and started tapping away on her terminal. I slid over the printouts of my financial records: PNC Bank statements dating back to late last December, and three months' worth of YB direct-deposit records.

We discussed things like loan amount, interest and repayment options. I opted for an $8000 loan on a 60-month schedule at an insane 16-point-something percent rate which, in practical terms, will mean repaying at about $195 per month for five dingle-damn years, unless I'm able to repay the loan faster. Since I don't plan on using about $2000 of the potentially $8000 loan, that money will be held in reserve so I can start repayment. I had originally thought to go for a $6000 loan, since that's what OneMain had been offering, but J said that, when negotiating loan amounts, it's better to start high and bargain lower. We flirted with $10,000 at first, but my needs are more modest than that, so I went for $8000.

J told me that today's session was only the first step in a multi-step process. She submitted my initial information; the Powers That Be will now look over my credit rating (mediocre, I'm sure) and my new debt-to-income ratio, and will make a decision as to (1) whether I can even get a loan, and (2) if I can get a loan, whether it can be for the full $8000. It could be, J said, that I might be permitted to get a loan, but at a lower, "counter-offered" amount. If I do get the loan, which will be unsecured (i.e., there'll be no collateral involved), I'll be asked to submit tax documents before a lump-sum bank transfer can be made.

So at this point, I'm expecting a call or email from J tomorrow morning or early afternoon. This communication will determine whether we go further in the process, or just terminate the discussion. I've got my fingers, tentacles, antennae, and all four testicles crossed. If I can't get a loan from PNC, I may have to hit up OneMain after all... assuming those assholes aren't on an extended coffee break again.


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