{"id":1044,"date":"2019-02-06T23:57:18","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T23:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.1stchoicebailga.com\/?p=1044"},"modified":"2023-12-13T20:24:14","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T20:24:14","slug":"what-to-look-for-in-a-bail-bonds-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/what-to-look-for-in-a-bail-bonds-company\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Look For In A Bail Bonds Company"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re looking to get a bail bond, there are a few things you need to know before you sign on the dotted line. Read on for what you need to know to find a reputable bondsman.<\/p>\n<h2>What Do Bail Bonds Companies Do?<\/h2>\n<p>Bail bonds companies are like lenders \u2014 they will post your bail in return for a fee \u2014 it works like a loan. Because these bonds are federally regulated, you can plan on paying a 10% fee to the bondsman for their help. So, if your bail is set at $5000, you\u2019ll owe the bail bonds company $500.<\/p>\n<h2>Find the Right Bail Bonds Company<\/h2>\n<p>Reputable bail bonds companies have a few things in common:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Licensing and credentials &#8211; they should be able to present these upon request; you can look them up on the Department of Insurance website for your state as well.<\/li>\n<li>A website and customer reviews &#8211; let other people sing their praises, don\u2019t just take their word for it.<\/li>\n<li>Clearly articulated fees and conditions \u2014 if there\u2019s something vague or shady, then something is clearly amiss.<\/li>\n<li>3rd party reviews like BBB or TrustPilot or ExpertBail<\/li>\n<li>They have a physical office where they do business \u2014 they\u2019re not just soliciting in front of jails<\/li>\n<li>Ask a friend or an attorney for a referral \u2014 oftentimes, people can refer you directly to someone they\u2019ve worked with in the past and trust.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Understand Your Contract<\/h2>\n<p>If you have to offer any collateral to secure your bond, make sure you read the fine print in the contract. Be wary of leveraging real estate as collateral. Failure to repay could cost you your home if you can\u2019t repay. Be sure to understand all clauses in the contract. If you\u2019re unsure, ask clarifying questions or have a legal expert review before you sign anything.<\/p>\n<h2>What happens if I miss my court date?<\/h2>\n<p>Wherever possible, avoid missing a court date. It\u2019s very, very bad to miss your court date. If you\u2019re out on bail, you need to read this <a href=\"http:\/\/www.1stchoicebailga.com\/what-happens-if-i-miss-my-trial-date-and-am-on-bail\/\">article about missing a court date on bail<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re looking to get a bail bond, there are a few things you need to know before you sign on the dotted line. Read on for what you need to know to find a reputable bondsman. What Do Bail Bonds Companies Do? Bail bonds companies are like lenders \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[61],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6363,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1044\/revisions\/6363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1stchoicebailga.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}