Many people find interviews uncomfortable but unavoidable parts of life. This is as true for an interview with your banker as it is for a job interview. In both cases, the other party has something you want. We’ll look at some tips that can help you go into the interview process with some bargaining power on your side.
1.) Prepare Your Papers
Before you even book an appointment or step into a branch, have a clear idea of what you need and what you have. Write a personal balance sheet listing your income, debts and assets. The bank will require this information anyhow, but it helps to tally it up in your free time when you can seriously look at what you own. (Buying rental property with personal, cash-collateralized loans is a smart move. Learn more in How To Tap Banks For Real Estate Loans.)
More often than not, the bank merely wants to hear yearly income and outstanding debts. By compiling the list in advance, you can add in the assets that make your case look stronger. As a general rule, if it is valuable enough to be covered under insurance, it’s worth listing as an asset.
Once you have your assets and liabilities tallied up, you’ll know what you need in the case of a consolidation loan, and what you can handle in the case of a business loan or other type of loan. Write up a short page explaining what you are looking for in clear language – e.g. “I want a $20,000 loan to consolidate my credit card balances at a low interest rate” – followed by the supporting documents. This could simply be your balance sheet with the interest rates on it and a letter of employment or it may be a complete business model with statistics on your market.
