Without question, signature loans are one of the hardest types of loans to get. This is because you don’t offer any type of collateral to the bank. You are simply signing on the line, promising that you’ll make your loan payments.

Since banks take on more risk when they provide you with a signature loan, it’s harder to qualify for one. You will need to make sure to prepare beforehand if you want to be able to get a loan of this type. Here are some of the things that will be required of you.

1. Employment. If you don’t have a job, the bank can’t really expect you to make payments. Most banks will prefer that you have been employed for at least six months. If you haven’t, you will probably have to wait until you have. Another aspect that’s related to this is your ability to make the payment. If you don’t earn enough to make the payment, you won’t be able to get the loan.

2. Solid credit history. Again, when you take out a signature loan, you don’t give the bank collateral. That means that when you default, they don’t have anything to take. In other words, they lost all of the money that you owe them. That means that the primary tool that a bank is going to use to determine eligibility is your credit history. As long as you have a reputation for making on time payments, you won’t have any problems. If you don’t have that reputation, you’ll have to built it before you can get this type of loan.

3. Good recent track record. In some situations, you may be able to take out this type of loan, even if your credit isn’t perfect. This can happen if you have bad, older marks on your credit but have redeemed yourself with a few years of on-time payments. This is actually quite common. You might not get a prime rate but the bank will see you as a decent risk.