Debt Consolidation

In todays society, people are living with more and more debt. It has become quite normal for people to have tens of thousands of dollars in debt. That can be quite frightening for many people and they start to look for a way out.

One of the ways many people utilize is debt consolidation. This can come in many different forms. There are the debt consolidation loans that people take out on their homes. They in essence take out a second mortgage on their home, using the equity they have built up to pay off their debt. This usually gives them a lower overall interest rate and can roll multiple payments into one payment. There are some drawbacks however.

You are trading unsecured debt such as credit cards or unsecured loans and trading it for secured debt - a mortgage on your house. If you fail to make a credit card payment, your credit can suffer but you won’t lose your house. If you fail to make your house payments, they can foreclose.

You also need to be careful with companies that will inflate the appraised value of your home in order to give you a larger second mortgage. This may seem to you to be beneficial, but in reality, you can wind up owing much more then the house is worth. If you want to sell or if something happens to the house, such as a fire, you can find yourself in a great deal of trouble.

It is also important to be very careful if you decide to sign up with a credit counseling service. Find out what the fees are and how they are paid. Find out ahead of time exactly what the company can do to help you. Many times, you can accomplish the same things on your own. For example, you can call your credit card companies and try to get them to lower your interest rate if you explain the financial difficulties you are having.

Debt consolidation can help some people pull themselves out of debt. It can also pull some people even farther into debt. If you are overwhelmed with debt and are not sure what to do, you should check out all the options available to you before making a decision. There are also debt elimination companies that can help reduce the amount you owe.

Be very careful when trading unsecured debt for secured debt. It is only a short term solution that can end up causing you more serious problems in the future.