You might think that you can’t control what rates lenders will offer you, which is true to an extent, but there is actually a lot of things both small and large that you can do to improve your application and your search that will help you find the best unsecured loans offers.

The first thing you want to do, which may seem a little off course, is get a copy of your credit report. You can do this free online once a year. The report will not show you what your score is, but it will show you all the information used to calculate your score. First check this over for errors, such as closed accounts marked overdue or open, or your credit limit marked lower than what it really is. An important factor in your score is the credit available to you versus the amount you have used so you want this to be as high as possible. If you have any high card balances that you are able to pay down, do that! This will help your score greatly.

While your score is an important factor, there are still more things to consider. Have you lived at the same place, and had the same employer, for the last few years? This shows a lender that you are a stable customer and is something you’ll want to point out on your application. If you’ve had financial problems in the past caused by a specific factor that no longer exists, such as medical bills, student loans, or a divorce, you’ll also want to point this out. You don’t want to focus on this for too long, but a short two or three sentence explanation will help, lenders will take this into consideration.

When you go to start your loan search, whether you plan to use an online lender or a local lender, I recommend doing a brief internet search. I recommend looking at five sites and looking at their rates and their terms and conditions. This will give you an idea of what to expect while shopping around for the best offer. A lot of customers only look at the rates, which lenders know, so they often hide a lot of fees in their terms, so do make sure to read them over.

If you work on cleaning up your application to present yourself in the best light, and do a search through five lenders offers, you’ll be on your way to finding the best unsecured loan for your situation.