There are no federal regulations prohibiting someone from having multiple personal loans, says Carolyn Carter, deputy director of the National Consumer Law. Some lenders may say no, forcing you to look for another loan, while others might allow more than one at a time. A second personal loan can seriously affect your credit score and overall financial health if you're not careful. Many lenders allow multiple outstanding personal loans. You can apply for a personal loan from several banks or lenders online, as long as you qualify.
However, if you already have a lot of outstanding debts, a lender may not approve an additional loan. The good news for potential borrowers who want to apply for more than one personal loan at the same time is that there is no rule that says you can't do this. The simple answer is yes: it is possible to have several loans at the same time. However, there are certain problems that can arise if you want to do so. You can have 1 to 3 personal loans from the same lender at the same time, in most cases, depending on the lender.
But there is no limit to the total amount of personal loans you can have at once between multiple lenders. The amount of loans you can have is limited only by your income relative to your expenses, including existing debt obligations. While there is usually no limit to the amount of personal loans you can open in general, lenders usually set their own restrictions. We'll walk you through this and the ins and outs of having multiple personal loans below. Upstart borrowers have to wait 60 days before reapplying if they repay the loan in less than six months or if they recently repaid a loan and any of the last six payments were not made on time. While personal loans can help you cover a large or unexpected expense, it may not make sense to borrow several personal loans at once.
Or, if you applied for a personal loan for a large expense, such as a wedding, and now you need to cover the cost of home remodeling in order to sell your home at a higher value, it might make sense to take out another loan for that purpose. Several of the big online lenders have explicit policies on borrowers who apply for multiple personal loans. Borrowers are short on cash, so they apply for a loan or use a credit card to pay expenses and eventually need to incur more debt to pay off the original debt. Prosper borrowers must wait a minimum of six months after receiving their first loan before applying for a second loan. In addition to credit rating and debt-to-income ratio requirements, some banks may also require you not to have missed any payments on your first loan for a set period of time or that your first loan balance is below a certain amount. Multiple loans mean multiple monthly loan payments, which can stretch your finances and put you in a risky position. Most lenders impose a maximum loan amount, which is the total amount you are allowed to borrow on all loans. For example, if you have already applied for a personal loan to consolidate credit card debt, but are now facing unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, it might make sense to apply for a second loan.
If you've applied for a lot of loans and it looks like you're running into debt, it's also unlikely that you'll be able to qualify for the new loan you're trying to apply for. In these situations, as long as you can keep up with both debts and each loan is used responsibly, it makes sense to have two loans. Because personal loans offer such an easy way to borrow money, you may be wondering how many personal loans you can have. Meanwhile, online lender SoFi says you can apply for a second personal loan only if you have made your last three consecutive payments on time.
