Blank Check Motorcycle Loans
A blank check motorcycle loan is a financing arrangement where the lending institution provides the motorcycle buyer the opportunity to purchase a new or used bike at an unlimited cost. Most lenders who provide financing for motorcycles limit the amount that you can spend when you’re shopping for a bike. The limit will be determined based on your credit rating, your income on a monthly basis and also your current existing debt payments. What you will find these days is that most banks will not provide a high enough limit so that you can get the bike you want. As any rider will tell you motorcycles these days can cost sometimes more than your average car (and sometimes more than a house for the really fancy motorcycles!)
It all comes down to the banks preapproval model for lending. You can usually be preapproved for financing before you even start shopping for a motorcycle. This way once you have chosen the bike that you want, the financing is taken care of quickly and easily. If you have a so-called blank check from the bank you can get anything you want. Keep in mind that you have to have a decent FICO score or at least not have a bad credit rating and you must have the income to support the monthly payments.
Some online and off-line lending institutions actually advertise blank check funding, and these companies are far and few between, but I can give you an example of a visitor to Financing USA that was approved for a blank check loan.
Dennis Maelstrom sent an e-mail correcting us regarding blank check loans. He was looking to buy a brand-new Harley Davidson back in 2007. The Harley that he wanted to buy was priced between 35,000 and $40,000 because he wanted the most expensive bike and he wanted all of the very best and latest options.
Unfortunately, almost all of the lenders that he spoke with or applied with would only lend up to a certain amount of money which was not enough to buy the bike he really wanted. So his search continued as he considered getting a HELOC or home equity loan to finance his Harley, but he really didn’t want to do that – he wanted to buy his bike completely on cash credit.
Eventually he found the lender in his home state of Texas who would preapproved him for any kind of vehicle up to $50,000 as long as it was brand-new. They also asked him if he would get a cosigner for loan which he did manage to do.
As it turned out Dennis did not need to use close to the $50,000 that was available, and he only needed to write a check for $32,000 by the time he was done picking up the bike he wanted from the Harley dealership.
He was also smart in that he had a way to protect his investment with a temperature controlled storage so that his bike would stay in perfect shape. Furthermore, Dennis has been riding motorcycles for more than 20 years so he knows how do look after his bike properly. We always suggest that before you buy a motorcycle you don’t start having dreams of grandeur where you buy a motorcycle for over $35,000 and you don’t have any experience maintaining it.
You are risking a lot because you need to learn how to protect your investment wisely and with a prudent eye for detail. This particular customer really does know how to maintain and take care of his Harley Motorcycle and he also appreciates the investment. Although he could have spent up to $50,000, he was prudent about his choices and he obviously was a good negotiator since he only spent 60% of what he could have spent based on the blank check motorcycle loan that he was approved for.
Pre-Approved Blank Check Motorcycle Loans
Another feature of these types of motorcycle loans is that the customer is pre-approved before they begin looking for a new motorcycle. The client can submit all of their financial information to the lender and address any questions that the lender may have before there is any emotional attachment formed between the client and a particular motorcycle.
The lender can review the information provided and provide the client with a figure that represents the size of the loan that they will be approved for. The client can choose to spend up to that loan limit or less than the limit. They can also choose to kick in some of their own money if the motorcycle they wish to purchase is more expensive than the loan limit they have been approved for. This solution really does give the client a great deal of flexibility and allows them the freedom to look at various motorcycles without wondering if they will be able to make the purchase based on a loan that needs to be approved.
We mentioned how a client can form an emotional attachment to a motorcycle. This happens more that you might expect. Many clients will spend a lot of time at a motorcycle shop, reviewing many bikes and taking some for tryout rides etc. They may find one that they really like due to the look and feel of the motorcycle and the options that are already on the bike. This is the danger point especially if they do not already have a pre-approved loan.
They may or may not be able to purchase the bike of their dreams simply because they do not know if they will be approved for a loan or not. With a pre-approved blank check motorcycle loan, clients can eliminate all of that confusion and stress. Find out what your limit is and you can be pre-approved for a loan that gives you the freedom to shop for a motorcycle.
In some cases using a broker might also assist you in finding a competitive motorcycle loan, blank check or not. Brokers make it their business to always be up to date on the latest interest rates and offers that lenders have available. They also pre-qualify borrowers and help match lenders and borrowers with the best deals for blank check motorcycle loans, car loans and many other types of loans. This is one of the best ways to finance all kinds of purchases at the best competitive rates available.