In an effort to keep our customers
informed about RV financing I thought some issues should be brought
to your attention. This information can save you money and will help
you to understand the loan process. It will alert you to some major
issues you should be aware of.
NEVER, never fill
out an automated “instant approval”, “automated
approvals”, “5 minute approvals”, “30 minute
approvals” type of application.
Why not, it's pretty
simple, you should not be comfortable applying blindly! You need to
ask “how many times will your company pull my credit score and
lower it with each pull”? If you do not ask they will do it as
many times as they like because you have given them the right to do
so, without speaking with someone you will never know!
We are required by the banks to pull your credit one time to make
sure you have good credit, then we send your application to the lowest rate bank that is most likely to approve your deal and they will again pull your
credit either to one bureau or a tri merge, THAT IS ALL WE PULL, the only exception and it is an exception is rarely we will have to pull it at two
different banks for competing rates for you, so the most pulls is one from us and two banks to get you the lowest current rates.
Without talking with anyone how will you know what the fees are?
Find out what their fees are. Make sure there are none that are
hidden under ‘other costs’. You may be surprised with a
bill for an extremely high loan processing fee a month or more after
the loan is finished.
Another gimmick is "get money back when you finance with us", ever wonder who's money that is? Ever wonder who is paying the interest IF you
actually do get money back (You, of course), do you wonder if the bank involved actually knows of this money back scheme, just some thoughts for you
to ponder.
A number of dealers are claiming
to be RV financing companies when in fact they are RV dealerships
with regular F&I departments who usually have to charge much,
much more for the loan rates because that’s how the dealership
makes additional profits. We are actually getting calls and hearing
complaints from people who have applied through them, these people
are always very upset to find their credit score has dropped by
many, many points, this is a common dealership tactic that the
dealership uses to make more money by “shot gunning”
your application to as many banks as they can sign up with, and by
the way they will generally try to switch you to buy one of their
RV's if they get an approval for you. Another thing they are doing
is saying “you’re approved” we just need a
few more things to lock up the deal when in fact they do not in
actuality have a real approval for you!!!! They are just pulling
your credit score and if they see that you have good credit they
assume you will be approved depending on the deal you are applying
for while actually knowing nothing about your complete credit
profile, only your score.
I personally know of many retired
people who have great credit scores but get turned down because they
do not have enough disposable income to afford a new motor home or
other luxury item. Your credit score is not the total answer, your
complete credit profile is.
Real RV financing companies, not
the dealers, are signed up with many or all of the major banks in
the U.S. and many local and regional ones also. By working with
these major banks we are able to offer you the true service we are
known for. We speak with the banks daily and therefore we know
without pulling your credit 10 times who is buying deals today and
who has the best rates for you today.
Another issue people have been
asking us about is the online surveys. We had our tech department
look at a couple of them and found them to be very questionable.
They seem to lead back to an RV dealership, you really just never
know, you must be careful and use good common sense when looking at
these supposed surveys, which could not be real surveys if you
actually read them and give them some thought, take your time, do
your homework and think through these “surveys” and you
will figure out they are not true, just a scam to make you apply.
Testimonials. Always check for how
real they are, do they have last names, or just a first name, if you
ask to contact them will they provide a contact number for you. With
our company if you would like to talk to a real customer that has
actually done business with us we will put you in contact with them,
they are happy to recommend our services..
You remember this old saying, if
it's too good to be true it usually is? Enter the low, very low
financing rates now being pushed by some of the large RV dealers
nationwide. When a dealer offers rates that are less than the
current Prime Rate there is some catch
involved. Read the fine print and COMPARE PRICES, the dealers using
this technique are selling the RV's for MUCH MORE money than you
could by the same rig elsewhere and they are using the extra profits
to buy down the rate at the financing bank. The big problem with
this is that you are paying and financing much, much more than the rig is worth. When you are ready to trade or sell the RV you will
have to dig into your savings to get rid of it because you will be
“upside down” in its value. Unfortunately
we have people each and every week calling us about this situation
and asking how to get out of the problem. The only real answer is
cash to pay down the balance. Many people who finance with the
dealers who use this very low rate as a come-on method are thousands
and thousands of dollars upside down. On average with $125,000
amount to finance through one of these programs AFTER
a down payment has been made, the customer is usually over $30,000
upside down, DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU, do
you homework and shop and shop.
We are always available by phone
for any questions you may have, don't be bashful, call us, we are
here to help you with any your RV financing or refinancing needs.
Charles Davis
CEO, RVFinancing.com
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