Securing Financing on SSDI ,full time?

[Matt1221]

Hi,
I have a dilemma coming up where I would need to live full time in a travel trailer. I am on SSDI & bring in less than 20k a year in income. Will it be hard to get financing? My credit is just'ok' But there are several new & slightly used trailers I like but scared to apply because I don't want to be rejected.

[valhalla360]

bgum wrote:
There is a second way to look at this. Your income is guaranteed by the federal government. The lender knows that it will be there month after month. Just get your numbers in line with what you want to purchase. I mean don't try and purchase a new diesel pusher on SSDI.

Problem is there are legal protections for SSDI, so if the OP drives off and stops making payments (not suggesting he would), the bank has little recourse but to try and track him down and repossess. For a $10k trailer that is beaten up...it's just not worth it.

Plus if the OPs total income is only $20k, even if they consider the SSDI, he probably won't qualify on financials to buy a trailer.

[Gdetrailer]

bgum wrote:
There is a second way to look at this. Your income is guaranteed by the federal government. The lender knows that it will be there month after month. Just get your numbers in line with what you want to purchase. I mean don't try and purchase a new diesel pusher on SSDI.

That isn't how the loan process works.

Banks while they do look at your "income" via pay stubs or deposits, that is not the ONLY criteria they use.

They also look at and take into account your BILLS like insurance, vehicle loans, electric, rent, heat and other utilities.

You must have some good credit history, capacity to pay back the loan, Collateral (something a bank can repossess to sell off if you default).

RVs are very poor collateral and represent a huge risk to a bank due to them losing value in a hurry which makes going to a bank for a RV pretty much a no go for most folks.

Location also plays into this due to cost of living, $20K income isn't much to work with and unless you are in a location which has an extremely low cost of living would be very doubtful any bank will extend a loan with a decent interest rate.. Loan shar high interst financers might take a risk but the interest will eat up a lot of your income and will take a long time to pay the RV off.

I would echo the idea of seeking some low income housing, I know of someone who have between SS and SSDI got less that $1K per month. We were able to get them in a senior high rise for $300 per month (subsidized), heat was included and subsidized electric bill (fixed $20 per month. Even had a lower floor with street level walk out access which was nice.

RVs are not really designed for this application, folks do it, but in reality they are insanely expensive to heat and if you have to pay for electric will be expensive to cool in the summer.

[drsteve]

Living full time in an RV is not a low cost option, especially one that is financed.

[bgum]

There is a second way to look at this. Your income is guaranteed by the federal government. The lender knows that it will be there month after month. Just get your numbers in line with what you want to purchase. I mean don't try and purchase a new diesel pusher on SSDI.

[midnightsadie]

x2 better look into low income housing. my mom lived in one of the units it was very nice well kept.

[colliehauler]

Low income housing might be a better option. I knew someone on disability that had a low income apartment utilities included for $400 a month. Even if you get a trailer you will have to find a place to park it which would be an additional expenses along with the trailer payment.

[westernrvparkow]

Matt1221 wrote:
Hi,
I have a dilemma coming up where I would need to live full time in a travel trailer. I am on SSDI & bring in less than 20k a year in income. Will it be hard to get financing? My credit is just'ok' But there are several new & slightly used trailers I like but scared to apply because I don't want to be rejected.

Unfortunately, it is very likely you will be unable to obtain financing. Your income is too low for most lending institutions. With only OK credit you aren't going to be approved. (I assume you don't have a huge down payment, a relative that is the bank president, or a huge trust fund you forgot to add into your income).
RV loans require high borrower standards for a number of reasons.
They are considered recreational and luxury purchases.
As collateral they have reduced value to the lender since the depreciate rapidly.
Then there is the fact that the collateral can virtually disappear along with the borrower. Most borrowers are tied to something, a job, a residence etc. They can be found if necessary. A full timer in an RV can be gone without a trace. Park it somewhere and you don't even need to keep it licensed. That makes a lender more cautious.
However, fear of being turned down isn't a good enough reason to not at least make an attempt. Nothing really harmful will happen if they say no. Then you will know and not be guessing or relying on internet opinions.
But in the end I think you will need to come up with another plan. Sorry.

[Second_Chance]

The majority of lending institutions won't lend to full-timers in the first place. If SSDI is your only income, I'm not sure you're going to be able to do it. You might call Essex Credit and have a talk with them. If you're still living in a house, apply now to get around the full-time issues.

Rob

[ksg5000]

Will it be hard to get financing - probably. Depends on how much you put down, value of the trailer, and age of the trailer. You can likely finance anything these days but the interest rate maybe astronomical. If it were me I would have frank conversation with the dealer ... they should have a good sense of your financing options.