Help with getting a loan for bus purchase

[Ronigbzjr]

Hey everyone.

I'm in a bit of a rut right now. Here's the thing. I bought a ticket to Arizona (I'm outside the US right now) in a little less than 3 weeks from now, November 28th. I have the bus I want to get and I have already planned everything regarding the conversion, but I need some money just to start it off, just for the first few months. I'm currently selling my grandfather's house in my home country, and we already have a deal, so the money will take a few months to get to me (bureaucracy and whatnot) but once it does I'll have enough cash to pay for even 4 conversions.

So I thought about getting a loan in the meantime, but that proves to be harder than I expected. My credit score is great, it's around 740, and I've never missed a payment. On the other hand though my credit history is very short - about 2 years, because I wasn't born in the US and have only been living there for a few years. So I checked multiple sites and lenders but never got pre-approved for anything. Last week I found a loan that I WAS pre-approved for at PenFed but today they told me it was declined.

My last alternative is to look for a loan from my bank here in my home country, which I'm not sure at all would be better for a number of reasons, but if that's the only option I'll do it, and anyway I'm going to check with them tomorrow.

Do you guys have any other options you can think of? Can I get maybe a secure loan and include the bus I want to buy as collateral to give the lenders some insurance in case I don't pay? How does one go about doing something like that? I'm really scared also that a lot of applications are going to badly hurt my credit score. Has anyone been in the same situation and found a solution? I just need something for now until I get the money from the house deal.

Thank you for your help!

[john61ct]

I would not borrow for that type of project, unless it meant getting free of housing payments

in other words, full-time living in the bus.

I think the type of "vehicle loan" you'd qualify for are very high interest, and you aren't allowed out of state, they put a remote kill switch on the engine.

Better to just pay cash as you go, wait until you can actually afford to pay stuff even if that slows you down.

Will you be legal to work?

[CHEESE_WAGON]

No financial institution is going to make a loan for this type of project, because there is no true established value by which they can go. The best you can do is to take an existing asset with a known reference value and use it for collateral.

[cadillackid]

credit score is only part of a loan... solid income is necessary as well as residency in the country.. without that the bank has no ability to assess risk.. or you are high risk period. esp during Covid banks are super cautious..


if its truly going to be paid back within a few months then you could take out a credit card that has a 0% introductory rate for the first 12 months knowing you'll pay it off long before that rate goes up..

[BeNimble]

Wait until you get your cash from the home sale before you spend it.
There is always another bus for sale.

[DeMac]

Land is a solid first purchase. You will always need a place to build/repair/live-in your bus. Maybe cheaper than a bus. Always better appreciation value. Easy to get a loan if own land.

[Native]

Originally Posted by BeNimble

Wait until you get your cash from the home sale before you spend it.
There is always another bus for sale.

^^^^^ this

[Ronigbzjr]

Thank you guys for all your advice!

To all the people telling me to wait, yeah okay, my situation is kinda particular, and I am not going to wait for anything. I'm not saying it's not good sound advice, I'm just saying that I've already detailed my situation in other threads and all of the considerations that I'm facing, and why I want to do it now and not wait. So your advices are 100% correct, it's just that I have already made up my mind, for better or for worse

Luckily today my mom managed to get a loan for me... Thank god for moms! So now I just need a bus and a place to work on it for a month. Easy peasy right? (that's sarcasm!) but anyway I'm already checking options and I'll post these kinda questions in a different thread.

****, I guess it's really happening now. My god. Oh well, here goes :P

[Ronigbzjr]

Originally Posted by DeMac

Land is a solid first purchase. You will always need a place to build/repair/live-in your bus. Maybe cheaper than a bus. Always better appreciation value. Easy to get a loan if own land.

That's such a great advice which totally opened up my mind to a lot of possibilities. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do it as a first purchase, but you definitely made me start looking around the webs. I see you're from Florida actually, and I saw that you could get a 1/4 acre close to the ocean for around 5k! That's amazing! I'm definitely gonna look into it some more and start saving money. Owning some land would be great for me for many reasons, not just the one you've listed, and somewhere really cheap and close to the ocean sounds perfect.

[cadillackid]

Originally Posted by Ronigbzjr

That's such a great advice which totally opened up my mind to a lot of possibilities. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do it as a first purchase, but you definitely made me start looking around the webs. I see you're from Florida actually, and I saw that you could get a 1/4 acre close to the ocean for around 5k! That's amazing! I'm definitely gonna look into it some more and start saving money. Owning some land would be great for me for many reasons, not just the one you've listed, and somewhere really cheap and close to the ocean sounds perfect.

one of the things to look for when buying land (obviously utilities are one thing unless you are 100% off-grid) but also zoning.. some areas even in the sticks require that a permanent structure for living be built. some only allow tempoerary housing such as an RV for the first 6 months after purchase.. be sure to look at what is required before you purchase land.

[john61ct]

Just make sure you're allowed to park the bus to work on it on your land, maybe a shipping container for lockup workshop/storage

and just rent a cheap place to sleep nearby.

[LeeDonna]

Because you had to go to a trusted bank

[DeMac]

That link is a scam.

[Bus'n it]

Originally Posted by DeMac

That link is a scam.

DeMac, I give you credit for clicking on any link provided by a 1 post user! So I am curious what became of the original post master?

[Bert06840]

Apparently there is a reason why new members are restricted in what they can post... I'm puzzled though why anyone is peddling Finnish cash advance schemes here.

[Bus'n it]

The story reminds me of the movie "The Repo Man"! (in the movie which is set in the near future, if you do not pay your medical bills, they send out repo men to cut the organs that were put in you as collateral!

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by Bus'n it

The story reminds me of the movie "The Repo Man"! (in the movie which is set in the near future, if you do not pay your medical bills, they send out repo men to cut the organs that were put in you as collateral!

Plate of shrimp.

You're thinking of Repo Men.

[Bus'n it]

yes, thats it! I may need my brain repo'd!

[Polarweasel]

This thread has certainly had more than its fair share of spam and scams. Locking it now so the spammers will find a new target…