Posts Tagged ‘Student Loans’

Loan Refinancing- Is It A Good Option To Refinance?

By refinancing an existing loan you can decrease the debt you owe by taking advantage of lower current interest rates. Whether its a student loan, home loan, or an auto loan, refinancing can often save you money. Refinancing is a good option for people with good credit or even for people with not so good credit. It can reduce a persons debt by lowering monthly payments and it can increase or reduce the length of a loans term. Refinancing can also be claimed as a tax reduction and can even increase a homes equity if it is a home loan that is being refinanced.

Student loans can be consolidated, which allows the student to combine multiple loans into one single loan from one lender. Each loan that a student takes out, has its own interest rate and it often varies widely from the others. By combining the loans, the student only has to pay one interest rate, which can lower their student loan debt substantially. Student loan consolidation is basically just combining debts into one. The balance of the original loans are then paid off by a loan consolidation lender.

Refinancing a home loan is a good option for homeowners that have lived in the home for a few years. If the homeowner has good credit and has a good history of making the mortgage payment on time there is a good chance that they can refinance their mortgage for one that has a lower interest rate. This can lower their monthly payment since the homeowner will be paying less interest. The equity in their home will be increased since more of their mortgage payment will go toward the home instead of to interest. Also a home loan can be claimed as a tax deduction, allowing the homeowner to keep more of their hard earned money each year.

Auto loans can also be refinanced to lower a persons debt. By refinancing an auto loan a person can lower their monthly payments and can reduce or extend the length of the loan. In order to refinance a car loan the amount of debt owed on the vehicle cannot exceed its worth or be more than five years old. It is best to refinance after paying off some of the debt owed by paying more than the monthly payment each month. Also in order to refinance a car loan the debt owed cannot be less than 7500.00. Refinancing a car loan is similar to consolidating a student loan, because a lender pays off your original loan and gives you a new loan at a lower interest rate.

Refinancing any type of loan will usually reduce a persons debt especially if they have good credit. By taking advantage of currently lower interest rates refinancing can be a good option for anyone who has been paying on the loan for a little while, has good credit, and makes their monthly payments on time. Even with bad or not so good credit, refinancing is still an option but finding a low enough interest rate may be more difficult.

How you can consolidate the loans of your students

Usually, consolidation is a faster way to get out of students’ debt than a reasonable and affordable payment plan. Once you go through the application process and get a direct Consolidation Loan, you will immediately be taken out of default status. You will stay this way as long as you keep making payments.

Although student loans are not secured debt, and therefore you will not lose your home or car if you don’t pay them, they are also different from most other unsecure debts. If you don’t pay your student loans, you won’t be able toget additional student loans or grants in the future. In addition you will be subjected to a number of special debt collection tactics that only the government can use.

These government collection tools can have very severe consequences.
First, the government can charge you collection fees, often far in excess of the amount you originally borrowed. Second, unlike almost every other kind of debt imaginable, thereis no statute of limitations for collection of student loans. This means that every 20-30 years after you went to school, the government can continue to try to collect your loans.
If you don’t pay your student loans, the government can also:

- seize your income tax refund
- garnish a certain percentage of your disposable income
- attach some federal benefits that are usually exempt for collection, such as Social Security income

If you get notice of a wage garnishment or tax intercept, you have the right to challenge it by requesting a hearing.
Sometimes just the act of requesting a hearing prompts the collector to agree to a payment plan. if you can pay a small amount, you should consider the various affordable payments plan that can get you out of default.

The department of Education’s student loan assists borrowers with student loan problems.
If you are having problems making your student loan payments because you have a low income you may be able to get help from your local legal aid or legal services office.