The first step is know how poor your credit actually is. You can determine the state of your credit by requesting your credit score and credit history report. Once you have that information, you can begin to research poor credit personal lenders, both online and locally, to find the most suitable loan to fit your unique situation.

If your credit score is very poor, you will be viewed by lenders as a bad credit risk. You may have to provide some type of collateral and get a secured loan. One common form of collateral used to get a loan with bad credit is real estate. This type of secured loan minimizes the risk for the lender, because if you default on your loan, they can legally take your house. When someone faces the possibility of losing their home if they do not make their loan payments, they will find the means necessary to repay the loan.

Your home is not the only form of security you can use to get a bad credit personal loan. Some lenders will be willing to accept a vehicle as collateral, as long as the value of the vehicle is in line with the amount of money you wish to borrow. In fact, using your car to secure a personal loan may be preferable to risking your home. A home foreclosure would be more damaging to your credit than surrendering your car to a lender, and a less expensive vehicle can usually be found as a replacement. If you have a vehicle that is paid off and a willing lender, it makes more sense to use it as security for a small loan of less than $10,000, than to risk losing a home that is likely worth more than $100,000.

If you own neither a home nor automobile, there are other things that can be used to obtain a loan with poor credit. It is possible to use stocks and bonds, jewelry and other valuables as collateral for your loan. In fact, almost anything with tangible monetary value can be used as collateral provided you can find a willing lender. Lenders prefer assets that will expose them to a minimum amount of risk, and are relatively easy to liquidate.

If you have sub prime credit and have nothing of great value to offer as collateral, some lenders will still be willing to extend you credit. If you only need to borrow a small amount of money, or less than $1000, you may be able to get a loan with no collateral and with no credit check. If you need to borrow much more than this, you will likely need a co-signer to guarantee your loan.

As a last resort, you can get a payday loan or paycheck advance loan. These loans carry steep finance charges which can work out to over 800% interest when annualized. Payday loans are short term loans guaranteed by your wages, and are normally payable on your next payday, or up to 30 days. Rolling over these loans will allow you to stretch your payment schedule if you are unable to meet the obligation to repay on your next payday; however, this is a dangerous tactic as you will incur additional finance charges which make the loan even more difficult to pay off. You should only consider a payday loan if you have exhausted all other options.

Almost anyone can get a personal loan regardless of their credit history, although people with the worst credit will either pay substantially higher interest rates or be forced to offer the lender some type of security to guarantee repayment. Don't borrow beyond your ability to pay, and begin to build a history of timely loan payments. As your credit score increases over time, many more loan options will become available to you.