Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Payment Options On A Budget
Times are tough. The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched a lot of our Southern Illinois families to the breaking point. When disaster strikes, it can seem impossible to choose between putting food on your table and your family’s safety.
We understand your needs, and your worries. That’s why, at Service Detectives, we’ve partnered with an outstanding range of companies. We are able to offer payment options to fit any family’s needs. One thing we’ve noticed, answering questions about payment options is that the huge array of terms, reams of legal language, and neverending paperwork can be confusing for many homeowners.
In this article, we are going to break down this chaos into easily digestible, straightforward language. We want to ensure that you have all the information possible to make the best decisions for you and your family.
What’s Your Score?
The first step in deciding what kind of payment option to apply for is knowing your credit score. If you don’t know this off-hand, as many of us don’t, there are several free options available, Like Credit Karma and Credit Wise. These apps are relatively simple to set up, and can keep you up to date with your current credit score, and any changes to your accounts or balances.
Once you know your score, you’ll get a rough idea of what “tier” you fall into.
What’s Your Tier?
Credit companies will place you into a tier, depending on your credit score and credit history. Some companies will only provide approval to people in certain tiers.
As a general rule, there are three tiers:
First-tier or prime customers are those with a score greater than 700. These customers will get favorable rates and easy approval. Most finance companies you see used by contractors are tier 1 providers because they offer the best rates to the contractor.
Second-tier or sub-prime customers are those with a score between 620 and 700. These customers get less favorable rates and usually require extra steps to get approval, like verifying income and expenses.
Third-tier or high-risk customers are those with a score below 619. Usually, this includes those with no credit history, bankruptcies, repossessions, foreclosures, or a lot of medical debt. Approval for these customers usually requires pay-day style loans with high-interest rates and short repayment terms. Very few contractors are able to find reputable companies willing to offer reasonable rates for these customers.
All is Not Lost!
If you’re a third tier customer, there are options available to you. The last two years have seen the rise of a number of lease-to-own companies in the heating and cooling space. Lease-to-own allows affordable payment terms and gets you safe and comfortable when disaster strikes. These companies also don’t rely on credit checks for approval, and generally won’t impact your credit with unnecessary “hard” checks.
How Do I Choose?
There are so many financing companies available, and it seems that virtually every contractor has a different company, or companies that they work with. How do you choose which contractor is not only trustworthy and reliable, but also has decent financing options available?
The easiest step when you’re researching your contractor is to check their website for a financing page to see what kind of companies they’re partnered with, and whether they specify what type of credit customers they can provide for before making potentially expensive appointments for estimates.
The easiest step when you’re researching your contractor is to check their website for a financing page to see what kind of companies they’re partnered with, and whether they specify what type of credit customers they can provide for before making potentially expensive appointments for estimates.
Open, honest contractors want your business, and are happy to discuss the options available either on their website, or over the phone.
Whatever your tier, a good contractor will partner with reputable and respectable companies they’re able to work with to provide affordable solutions for any customer.
When disaster strikes and all seems lost, just remember that for all your electrical, heating, cooling, & generator needs, give our friendly team a call at 618.993.HELP [4357], or book online by clicking the link above.
Be sure to ask about the outstanding payment options available here at Service Detectives that can suit any budget or credit standing, or check out our financing page by clicking the menu above
We care more because your family is our family too!
