The alumni would lend money to new graduates for various purposes, creating a sense of community lending. SoFi has kept its student roots and now specializes in private student loans and student loan refinancing. It has also expanded operations to cover general personal loans, mortgages, small business financing, and a number of investment options.
SoFi is a better option for young professionals and those who already have a history of good credit. The minimum credit score stated is 680, but many will only be accepted with scores of 700 or higher. So it’s definitely not the option for you if you have bad credit.
SoFi is a direct lender, meaning you’ll be borrowing directly for personal loans, mortgages, and student loans. However, it has a small pool of partner lenders when applying for small business loans.
Being a direct lender, you won’t be able to compare rates to competitors, and it can sometimes be a lengthy process to get the money into your account.
It should also be noted that SoFi was subject to a Federal Trade Commission ruling in 2018, under accusations it misrepresented savings students could make with its refinancing options. While this is now settled, SoFi’s reputation did take a hit.
Loans and policies breakdown
General personal loans
SoFi has some great personal loan options with low rates available. However, you’ll need a good credit rating, evidence of a responsible financial history, evidence of professional experience, and proof of income.
These loans aren't for you if you need the money quickly. The approvals process can take anywhere between 7 to 30 days, and even longer for the money to arrive in your account.
Features to expect include:
Borrow between $5,000 and $100,000
Fixed Rates between 8.99% and 35.49%* with all discounts
No origination or early repayment fees required
Repayment terms between 2 to 7 years
A minimum annual income of $45,000 is needed. However, most borrower’s annual income exceeds $100,000
Long approval times. The average is 7 days but this can be as long as 30 days
Mortgages and home loans
SoFi offers mortgages on new homes as well as refinancing options on your current mortgage. However, SoFi’s mortgage offerings are relatively new, and as such they’re a little limited. Also, interest rates can be a little higher than competitors, but you’ll get good dedicated customer service. Features include:
15 or 30-year mortgages available
Interest rates between 3.63% and 4.63%
The online application is simple to follow
SoFi only offers mortgages in 42 states
Loan-to-value of 90% or less
There are better mortgage broker options out there at the moment, as well as a growing number of mortgage comparison sites. Once SoFi’s mortgage option becomes more mature, though, it’ll likely be able to offer better value.
Small business loans
These work a little differently to SoFi’s other loans as you don’t borrow the money directly from SoFi. Instead, you’ll be referred to ‘Lantern Credit’, a company owned and operated by SoFi. It’s a comparison site that offers other services beyond business loans.
No details are available via the SoFi website, and all links follow through to the Lantern site. Despite being owned by SoFi, you’ll legally be taking your business loan from a different company.
Investment options
SoFi also offers a number of investment account options. This is for those interested in investing in the stock market. Options include:
Active investing accounts - Pick and choose your investments and pay no trading fees on stock purchases
Automated investments - Simply set a goal, such as a retirement fund or downpayment on a house, and SoFi will auto-invest your money. You don’t have to do anything and your stocks will be assessed every quarter by SoFi
Retirement accounts - As these are a new product at SoFi we don’t yet have any data to look at
Bitcoin investment options - Open a bitcoin account with SoFi and choose to buy or sell the cryptocurrency at your leisure
Stock bits - SoFi lets you invest even if you have very little money to invest with. Stock bits allow you to buy fractions of shares instead of full ones. Accounts start from just $1
Key advantages of using SoFi
SoFi is great for those who want to borrow large amounts of money to cover big purchases. SoFi aims its products to people with some understanding of financial services and targets the young professional market. If you’re in this group you’ll benefit from low interest rates.
It’s a sensible choice for those looking for student loans too. You will have the benefit of a student help center and great customer support throughout your loan term.
If you have some disposable income it might be worth signing up to one of SoFi’s investment account options.
Key Disadvantages of using SoFi
SoFi definitely isn’t for you if you have bad credit. The credit score requirements are quite high and anyone with a rating below good is going to be rejected.
As a direct lender, your options here are rather limited. Trying a loan comparison site might be a better route to take as you’ll be offered a greater variety of rates and repayment terms.
SoFi’s target market is for those who use their loans for planned expenses since approvals alone can take up to 30 days.
Summary
If you’re financially stable, on a decent income, and have a good credit rating, then SoFi is a good choice for you. It’s likely you’ll be able to access very favorable interest rates and even dabble in some investment options if you have the spare cash.
However, if you need money to cover emergencies or suffer from a poor credit rating, we’d recommend trying elsewhere. Start with some of the larger loan comparison sites to increase your range of options.
