Finding the lowest interest rate use to be hard but is nowadays a lot easier thanks to the internet. This is due to the fact that there is an ever increasing number of different websites that allows you to compare interest rates offered by different banks and financial institutions. Not all banks are always represented but a large percentage is and it will always be impossible to check with 100% of the banks that offers loans in the US. It would take forever to do and would not reduce your rates enough to justify the time it would take.
It does not matter what state you live in or if you are an expat living in a foreign market. Example of sites that will help you compare rates in foreign markets include the Swedish website Snabblån.nu and the German site credimaxx.de. You will find a interest rate comparison website targeting almost all markets or at least all mature markets. If you live in a developing country with a poorly developed bank system featuring only a low number of banks you might find that you need to contact the banks directly to see who offers the best interest rate.
If you choose to use a rate comparison website it is important to remember that the rates shown are APR rates. The Apr rate is not necessary the rate you will get. The Apr rate is the rate that 51% of all the applicants can get. This means that 49% of all applicants will be offered the loan at a higher rate. It also means that you might be able to get a lower rate than advertised if you have a very good credit score. The rate you see on the web page should in other words be viewed as a guideline. Not a an exact specification of how much the loan will cost for you.
The websites that allow you to compare interest rates are a good place to start searching for the lowest rate but you should not immediately apply for the the loan that offer the lowest rate you see. There are a few more things you should check first if you want to be sure that you will get the cheapest loan possible.
The first thing is to see if the low interest loan has an hidden fees or application fees that makes them a more expensive choice then might first seem to be the case. Look at the total cost of the loan. Not just the interest rate.
The second thing you should do before accepting a cheap loan online is to check if any of the organizations you are a member of offer cheap loans to members. Some organizations have negotiated special deals for their member. Special loans that only are available to members can often be rather cheap. This is however not always the case so you always have to compare them to other loans.
The third thing you should do is to see if there are any credit union that you can join and get a cheap loan through.
The fourth thing you should do is to call the bank that you are presently a customer at, tell them about the situation, the interest rate you found and ask the if they want to match it. More often than you think they prefer to keep all your business and might end up offering a lot better loans than those they advertise.
If the loan you found online is still the cheapest one than we recommend that you apply for it. We recommend that you go back to the interest comparison website and go through it to make an application. This way you help support the website that made it possible for you to find the loan. This helps the website to stay online and improve.
