It’s always worth shopping around to see what rates you can get from other lenders. While most personal loans are specifically for home improvement projects, you can simply apply the loan to your project. Many online lenders also allow you to pre-qualify so that you can check their rates ahead of time without affecting your credit score, making it easy to compare different offerings.
Just remember that both types of loans have a origination fee that is charged with your first monthly payment.
It is a different way to get a home improvement loan than you may be used to. This article will explain the differences, plus pros and cons, to let you know if this lender is right for you.
What Is GreenSky Loans?
Even though GreenSky has this offer for those with bad credit, the better your score the better your offer from GreenSky. If you’re looking to improve your score, check out these ways to improve your score this year.
Minimum credit score
If you’re looking at a smaller project, a credit card might cover your home improvement expenses. Many cards offer 0% interest during a promotional period much like GreenSky, but unlike GreenSky, you’re not penalized with retroactive interest if you don’t pay off your loan from the promotional period. Make sure to read the fine print if you go this route because many credit cards have high APRs after the promotional period.
Is GreenSky Trustworthy?
How to Apply for a GreenSky Home Improvement Loan
GreenSky offers a Reduced Rate Loan with competitive rates and long repayment periods. A GreenSky Reduced Rate Loan is a good loan option if you know you’ll need longer than a few months to pay off your loan.
Goldman Sachs acquired GreenSky, LLC in 2021. While Goldman Sachs owns GreenSky, the actual financing of GreenSky’s loans goes through many different federally insured banks throughout the country.
With competitive rates and long repayment periods, a GreenSky Reduced Rate Loan might be a good option if you know you can’t pay off your loan quickly.
Loan amounts
How Does a GreenSky Loan Work?
If you’re not working with a GreenSky Pro or simply want to look at other options to cover your home improvement costs, check out some alternatives below or read our best ways to finance your home improvements.
account activation fee
Interest rate ranges
Types of GreenSky Loans
One small downside we’ve found with GreenSky is because everything is run through the contractor, GreenSky’s website is not marketed for the average consumer. All the information is directed at contractors, making some consumer information difficult to find. Luckly, we dove into the fine print and FAQs and found the most important information you need before you sign up for a GreenSky Loan.
Ready to stop worrying about money?
GreenSky Deferred-Interest Loans
CFPB believes that GreenSky was at least aware of the problem and did not take the proper actions against it. CFPB is requiring GreenSky to refund or cancel 9 million in loans, pay a .5 million civil penalty, and create new procedures to avoid it happening in the future.
- Deferred interest
- Higher interest than other options
Get the Penny Hoarder Daily
- Up to 12-year repayment period
- APR 0% to 11.99%
Best for Longer Repayment Periods
Pros
None disclosed
Key Features
GreenSky Loans itself is not a lender, but instead works as a go-between connecting you, the homeowner, and federally insured banks to find the best financing option for your project.
We’d love more information on the GreenSky website itself, but these rates are competitive and we like that the GreenSky Pro should walk you through all your options including the specifics on your monthly payment before you officially sign for the loan.
Even if you are initially denied, GreenSky will automatically send you an alternate offer called an Instant Counteroffer (ICO). This is a nice feature for those with less than perfect credit as it doesn’t require another hard credit pull that might hurt your credit score.