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PenFed Loan Approval Status

15K views 24 replies 13 participants last post by  MarieW 
#1 ·
I just applied for a PenFed loan and at the end it said my loan request had been sent to a loan officer and is now pending. Is this normal or are loans usually approved on the spot?
 
#5 ·
So I took your advice and called. I told them I was under the impression that I would receive an approval or denial immediate and inquired if anything were wrong. I was informed that rarely does anyone receive a response (positive or negative) that quickly. She said in those cases either you have great credit and make a huge amount of money (approved) or have really bad credit and make very little money (denied). :rofl:

The rep took the time to help me with my member number (which I did not have) and helped me set up my PIN.

When I logged into my account to check my application status it says "PREPARING TO DISBURSE". Does this mean what I think it means?
 
#3 ·
^ I agree. I applied and was approved immediately. I had a conditional approval pending my collateral verification (pay stubs) and the dealership bill of sales which reflected the amount to be financed as the amount owed. I waited till I got my paper work squared away to sent those in and then called them and the check was cut out the same day. It arrived two days later and I was able to square off everything at the dealership the day after. Very helpful staff and response. Good luck!!
 
#4 ·
So does PenFed require an actual vehicle with a pending bill of sale in order to apply for a loan, or will they do conditional/pre-approval for a certain amount if you're unsure of the specific car? My lease is up in April and I'm just now starting to look. Obviously, I'm not applying for a loan yet, but when the time comes I wasn't sure how it worked. I kind of wanted to get an idea of what they would approve to help me narrow down my list, especially if I've have to order something (I don't want to order only to find out 3 months later I wasn't approved for enough).
 
#7 ·
You can be pre-approved without actually having a car on order. However the offer is only good for 30 days. Also running your credit repeatedly damages your credit score. So it is best to apply for it within 30 days of actual delivery.
 
#6 ·
I have done two loans with Penfed, and i think it is normal. My loan in '07 was approved immediately. My approval in June of this year took four days -- despite having an 820 FICO score and putting a good amount down. I would just hang tight for a while longer...more review these days.
 
#10 ·
With the 3rd round of quantitative easing that the Fed announces recently, I won't be surprised if banks like Penfed go as low as 0.99%.

When I told my CA about the Penfed rate, he said they bank with Chase and could probably get me the same rate, and they did! On my own, Chase was quoting me 3%.
 
#12 ·
With the 3rd round of quantitative easing that the Fed announces recently, I won't be surprised if banks like Penfed go as low as 0.99%.

When I told my CA about the Penfed rate, he said they bank with Chase and could probably get me the same rate, and they did! On my own, Chase was quoting me 3%.
Since I won't be in a position to buy until next spring, with my luck rates will be up to like 10% by then :(
 
#11 ·
I was approved over the phone. The loan was good for 90 days I did not have to specify a car but I did give an approximate down payment. When the time came to pull the trigger I picked my car and I had a bit of a problem with the PO that they requested for some reason they would not accept the form my dealer was sending It in I had to be proactive in calling them and I would get different people each time . They finally acted like they were doing me a favor by putting though the loan with the paper work they had. I lost a day with this.
Also you should know they mail you a check in the mail unless you request a fedex next day. You have to pay separately for this. In the end it was done and was very good. I could not believe my good fortune at a rate of 1.99. At least until I saw a rate of 1.49 a couple of weeks later it's worth it to put up with a bit of there quirkiness in the end they are great :)
 
#19 ·
Folks,

Is it possible to just get the rate and term of the loan from PenFed without actually applying the loan? I just wanted those numbers as benchmark for negotiating with the financing department of the dealer and to see if they can match PenFed. If I could get everything done at one place, I would prefer that.
 
#21 ·
Why don't you just apply? It doesn't hurt anything to run it so close to your BMWFS application and then you have hard numbers to work with that you know are actually applicable to you.

C:\>Sent from my 386 using MS-DOS__
 
#23 ·
You do not. People rate shop like that, and the FICO model recognizes this and counts several closely grouped inquiries for the same type of credit as one inquiry against your numerical score. So, once you've narrowed it down to a few competing lenders it doesn't hurt at all to apply with all and simply pick the one with the most favorable terms after negotiations.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
 
#24 ·
You do not. People rate shop like that, and the FICO model recognizes this and counts several closely grouped inquiries for the same type of credit as one inquiry against your numerical score. So, once you've narrowed it down to a few competing lenders it doesn't hurt at all to apply with all and simply pick the one with the most favorable terms after negotiations.

Sent from BimmerApp mobile app
Thanks a lot - appreciate it.
 
#25 ·
That's surprising. When I applied for a PenFed loan, it was approved immediately. There were no delays. Maybe there was a little problem with yours. Anyway, the PenFed Promise Visa is a rarity among charge cards. How so? Try its no-fee structure, for starters. If you or a member of your household is a member of the U.S. armed forces or affiliated group, you are eligible to join Pentagon Federal Credit Union and make an application for the card.
 
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