Can You Get a Loan for $10,000?

Personal loans are not the only option when you need to borrow $10,000.

Loans are available for just about any amount. If you're considering a loan, look at why you need the money to decide what type of loan will work best for your situation, and how much to borrow.

Which loan types work for $10,000?

The type of loan you apply for determines the minimum and maximum amounts you can borrow. If you opt for a title loan (a loan that uses your vehicle as collateral), a lender typically won't loan you more than a fourth to a half of the vehicle's resale value. Similarly, payday loans are limited to a percentage of your usual pay. Neither of those is a good option if you need $10,000.

For a $10,000 loan, you have several options.

$10,000 loan types

• Auto loan: This is a secured loan only for buying a car.
• Business loan: This loan type, meant to fund your business or purchase equipment, often requires a personal guarantee. So even though it's a business loan and you might qualify based on your business' income and needs, you are personally responsible for repaying it. If you default, your personal credit can suffer.
• Debt consolidation loan: This is an unsecured personal loan meant to pay off multiple debts, reduce the number of monthly payments, lower the overall interest cost, lower your total monthly payment, or any combination of those.
• Home equity loan (or home equity line of credit): This loan is secured by your home, and you must have equity to qualify. If you opt for a line of credit (called a HELOC), you can draw from the credit amount to borrow exactly what you need as you need it, rather than guessing at a lump sum up front. There is usually no restriction on how you use the money.
• Healthcare loan: This loan is for a specific healthcare need, such as orthodontics, and is sometimes offered at the reception desk in a provider's office. Similar loans are available for some veterinary expenses.
• Personal loan: A personal loan can be used for just about any purpose. Secured personal loans are guaranteed by collateral, such as a valuable item or a bank account balance. Unsecured personal loans are not attached to any collateral, and are based on your creditworthiness alone.

Loan minimums and maximums

All lenders set minimum loan amounts.

Car loans and healthcare loans are typically limited to the exact amount of the purchase.

You may be able to borrow the biggest amount of money using a home equity loan or HELOC, because the limit is tied to your equity. On the low end, it is possible to find a home equity loan for $10,000, but most lenders set the minimum at $25,000 or more. If you want to borrow less than that, a HELOC or personal loan may be a better option. You can borrow less with a HELOC by simply not accessing the total amount of credit available to you. If you opt for a personal loan, note that it usually comes with a higher interest rate than a home equity loan or HELOC.

The minimum personal loan amount is often between $1,000 and $2,000. The maximum loan amount is usually between $10,000 and $50,000, but can be more than $100,000.

How to qualify for a $10,000 loan

Get your credit ready

Lenders offer the lowest interest rates and fees to people with excellent credit. Also, how much personal loan you can get may depend partly on your credit score.

So if you have a financial need on the horizon, check your credit and see what you can do to maximize your score. You can check your credit for free online. Get your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com, and check them for errors. Some errors can ding your score, so get any discrepancies corrected right away.

Check your score (usually not included on the report). Your bank or credit card issuer might offer free credit scores, or you can check with some of the more reputable of the websites set up for this purpose. What you see online may not be exactly the same score a lender sees, but it should give you an idea what neighborhood you're in. Free credit score websites almost always offer an analysis of your score, letting you know what factors affect it. Use that information to improve your credit to the extent that you are able.

Research loans

Once you're ready to apply, get as much information as you can about lenders so you don't spend more than you have to. For some loan types (auto loans and home equity loans), you can apply with multiple lenders to compare offers without hurting your credit score. That's not true for personal loans or healthcare loans. With those, every time you apply your score can drop a few points.

These are some of the details you might want to know:

• What's the interest rate?
• Is there an origination fee?
• If there is a fee, can it be added to the loan balance if I don't have cash to pay it up front?
• How long will it take to repay the loan?
• What's the monthly payment amount?
• What is the total cost of the loan?
• Can I access more money if I need it?
• What's the minimum credit score required?
• What's the interest rate for someone with a credit score better than mine?

After you find the best loans and choose a lender, applying is simple.

After you get your loan, make every single payment on time. A loan can help you build healthy credit, which could lower the cost of financing in the future. But that's only true if you consistently make your payments as agreed.