Being charged with a crime is probably not going to make your day. But the experience gets worse if you find yourself navigating the bail system. Those who are considered flight risks must usually put up savings, pledge property or get bail bond loans to get out of jail before their court date.
There are several ways you (or loved ones on the outside) can make it happen.
[Read: Best Low-Interest Personal Loans]
How to Post Bail
There are three common ways to post bail:
— Cash bond means paying the entire amount of your bail in cash or by cashier’s check to the court. Once you’ve shown up to all of your hearings and met every requirement of the court, the bail is returned to you — less any administration fees.
— Surety bond means a bail bond agent pays the money on your behalf. You pay a fee to the bond agent, and the agent pays the entire bail amount to the court. Once you’ve complied with all of your appearances and other requirements, the court returns the money to the bail agent.
— Property bond means you pledge real estate to the court. Property bonds allow you to avoid the bail bond agent fee but can be time-consuming. You have to submit a document package establishing the property ownership and appraised value. (Your home equity, which is the property value minus any mortgage balance, must be enough to cover the bail amount.) The court must approve the paperwork (there may be a hearing for this) and file a lien before you can finally get out of lockup.
You may also be able to request a hearing to get bail lifted or reduced. Judges vary widely in their policy regarding bail, and paying a lawyer to get you out may be the cheapest option if your bail amount is large.
Some states allow you to ask for house arrest, aka pretrial home confinement, if you can’t post bail. You have to wear a GPS monitor on your leg and pay fees for the privilege, but it may allow you to continue working. Your movement is restricted, but at least you’re not in jail.
Bail Bond Loans: How to Post Bail When You Don’t Have the Money
If you don’t have ready cash to post bail, you may be able to get a bail bond agent (aka “bail bondsman”) to post bail for you. To get a bail bond, you or someone who believes in you must pay a fee to the agent. It’s typically 10% of the total bail amount, and it’s nonrefundable.
Bail Bond Fee
You might not have to pay the entire fee up front. If the person putting up the fees has excellent credit, some bail bond companies allow them to pay the fee in installments.
It doesn’t always cost 10% to get someone out of jail, either. “Some bond companies will simply have a lower percentage standard or will offer different percentages on a case-by-case basis,” says Ben Michael, attorney at Michael & Associates in Austin, Texas. “Having good credit can definitely be helpful.”
Generally, though, you’ll pay 10%, says Sam Bassett, Austin, Texas, criminal defense attorney of Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey. “Each bonding company can decide what premium to charge on a bond amount. Usually, a county has a ‘bail bond board’ consisting of stakeholders (judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys) who oversee bonding companies for that jurisdiction. They may have guidelines on what percentages can be charged. However, 10% is generally the standard for most bail bond companies,” Bassett says.
Bail Bond Collateral
In addition to paying the fee, you, your friends or family will probably have to put up collateral to secure the full amount of the bond. However, that’s not true for all bond agents in all places, says Michael T. Gibson, an auto justice attorney at Michael T. Gibson PA in Orlando, Florida, “especially if you have strong credit and strong community ties.”
In most cases, though, you will. Because bond companies don’t stay in business if they lose too many clients.
“Ultimately, if the person flees, the bail bond company is on the hook to pay the bond, and if the bail bonds company cannot cover it, then the insurance company pays,” says Ross Goodman, founder and criminal defense attorney at Goodman Law Group in Las Vegas.
Goodman notes that insurers can refuse to back a bail bonds agent whose clients jump bail too often, and that would put the agency out of business. “This gives the bail bonds company every incentive to make sure the nature of the collateral is good or there is a family member who may be in a better financial position (to) personally guarantee the obligation.”
[Read: Best Personal Loans.]
Personal Loans for Bail
It’s difficult to get a personal loan if you’re incarcerated and have no way to apply. But your friends or family may be able to borrow the 10% bond fee — or the entire bail amount, and it could be cheaper to post bail this way. While you probably won’t see advertisements for personal loans for bail bonds or home equity bail bond loans, many providers allow borrowing for any legal purpose.
Personal loans can be secured or unsecured. If your credit is good, it may be much cheaper for you to get a personal loan than a bail bond. There are a few considerations:
— You may only need the money for a short period, especially if your court date is just weeks away. However, you have to qualify for the loan, and the payment on a short-term personal loan may be too high for your income. In that case, choose a loan with a longer repayment term and no prepayment penalty, and pay it off when your bail is returned.
— Mainstream personal loans can have origination fees as high as 10% and interest rates as high as 36%. If your credit is spotty, it may be cheaper to just go with a bail bond company.
— If you don’t qualify for a personal loan for the entire bail amount, you may be able to borrow 10% of your bail to pay a bail bondsman. That’s not the cheapest solution, but it does get you out.
— Other short-term options like title loans are fast. However, they can be expensive. And if your court date gets pushed out and you have to keep rolling over or extending your loan, your balance can quickly overtake your vehicle’s value and you could lose it. Payday and title loans come with fees that typically translate to an average interest rate of about 300%.
Bail Bonds vs. Personal Loans
Many people think of bail bonds as loans to get someone out of jail, but they are not technically loans. They are guarantees.
“The purpose of the bond is to ensure ‘good behavior,’ while out on bail and attendance at forthcoming proceedings,” says Goodman. “This is a contractual relationship where the person owes the bail bonds company the premium including conditions such as check-ins or random home inspections to make sure the person is complying with bail and not committing crime or preparing to flee.”
To prevent this, bail companies may go the extra mile to make sure that you show up when you’re supposed to. If you miss a check-in, they can revoke your bond and you go back to jail.
Here are some other differences:
— Personal loans don’t usually require collateral. Bail bonds usually do.
— In general, bail bonds companies consider flight risk; personal lenders consider credit rating.
— Personal loans don’t require check-ins, and they can’t be revoked.
— Bail bonds can be applied for from jail.
— Bail bonds can be cheaper if your credit isn’t good.
[Read: Best Online Loans]
How Fast Can You Get a Loan to Post Bail?
If you’re in jail awaiting trial, you will probably not be able to apply for a personal loan yourself. That’s because in the U.S., inmates don’t generally get internet or email access. So your loved ones would most likely have to apply and take out your bail loan in their own names.
If they’re willing and creditworthy, personal loan applicants may get funded in just a day or two. Consumers can often apply for loan preapproval online, which allows them to see how much they’d most likely be allowed to borrow and the rate they’d be offered. If they agree with the offer, they can finalize the loan by uploading required documents like bank statements and pay stubs.
Some personal loan providers use fintech to access income and banking information directly from payroll processing firms and banks (with the applicant’s permission). That can really speed up the approval process. Once the loan is finalized, loan proceeds are usually transferred directly into the borrower’s checking account — and then they can spring you.
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Personal Loan vs. Bail Bond: Which Is Better to Get out of Jail? originally appeared on usnews.com
