Saturday, September 8, 2007

Finding The Best Student Loan Consolidation Program

Many college graduates come out of school with several loans to pay off. This means that after the six month grace period there will be payments for each of your loans. Each of those loans will have their own interest rate which will make the loans themselves difficult to pay off completely. Finding the best student loan consolidation program can help you pay less each month and put an end date to those student loans as well.

The first priority will be to find the best student loan consolidation program. Each program will have its own perks and its own drawbacks. One of the most important details to the loan consolidation payback will be the interest rate that is charged each month. If you presently have two loans that charge 8% each you should consider the fact that each month you are paying 16% on your entire student loan. That means that you will be paying thousands on top of the thousands that you borrowed. When you consolidate those loans into one you’ll want to find the best interest rate which you will only be charged once each month.

When you’ve found the best interest rate, you’ll want to make sure that this loan also has the best terms for payback. In other words, be sure that the date set for the termination of the loan is reasonable. If you say that you’ll have your loan paid off in five years, be sure that this is feasible. Of course we can’t predict everything that will happen, but you should have a good idea of the amount that you’ll be able to afford over time. If ten years is more workable, find the best student loan consolidation program that has a good interest rate and the best payback terms.

A flexible loan payback program can be most helpful. There are those times in everyone’s life that money is tight. In those times it may be helpful to put your loan into forbearance. Be sure that the loan you decide to go back is willing to agree on a forbearance or restricted payback amount for a certain period of time while you get your finances back in order.

The loan’s interest rate should not be flexible however. The last thing you need is a large increase in your monthly payment because the interest rate fluctuated. Making sure the interest rate is fixed will also ensure that your payment will always be something that you can live with. When you know the payment that you’ll have to pay each month you’ll find that you can budget effectively.

If possible, make sure there is no penalty for making early payments or for paying the loan off early. If you get a windfall of cash from somewhere, you may want to pay off this student consolidation loan completely, so you want to make sure that is possible.

A consolidation loan can save you thousands. You will pay less each month yet your payment will be more effective. Your loans will have a definite paid date which is not ages into the future. Finding that loan may be easier than you think and certainly worth the trouble.

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation means combining all your several debts, usually unsecured debts into just one account resulting in one payment each month instead of several payments. This goes to the debt Consolidation Company who will disburse it among your creditors.

The debt Consolidation Company’s goal is to reach an agreement with your creditors in your behalf so the interest rates or any other late fees can be reduced or scrapped altogether, resulting in lower monthly payments. If your funds are very limited, your creditors may even agree to reduce the principal to an amount you can afford to pay.

The purpose of a debt consolidation company is to work out a program that will benefit both you and your creditors. Your creditors naturally want to see their money paid back and you want to be relieved of your debts in the most painless way possible. Of course, you can negotiate with your creditors yourself but creditors are generally more receptive to negotiating with professionals who are more likely to consider all angles of the situation.

The extent by which the interest rate or the principal amount of your debt is reduced is dependent on your capacity to pay. Before any agreement can be reached, your income and expenses are assessed by the debt Consolidation Company. The result of this assessment is submitted to your creditors as proof. This will become the basis for the terms of agreement.

A debt consolidation program will allow you to pay off your debts in a shorter period, say 4-6 years instead of 10 years, depending on how big your debt is. Another benefit is that your creditors will stop harassing you with telephone calls or letters demanding repayment for your debts. This will take some stress of you and will let you focus.

Common unsecured debts allowed in a debt consolidation program:
• Credit card debt – unpaid credit card balances
• Department store debt – unpaid balance on department store credit cards.
• Student loans – unpaid balance on loans used in pursuing college education.
• Tax debt – arrears on income taxes
• Medical or legal bills – unpaid balance incurred for medical or legal services.
• Personal loans – unpaid balance on personal bank loans or any other financial institutions
• Utility bills – unpaid bills from utility companies such as cable, telephone, gas, heating, electrical or home insurance services.
• Collection agencies – unpaid debt on bills that have been referred to a collection agency for repayment.

Choosing the right debt consolidation firm is important. Consolidating your debts will cost you money so find out what the fees are, whether you afford it with your current financial situation and any hidden or additional fees. Find out as much as you can so you do not end up with a dishonest company who does not have your best interest in mind.

When you enter a debt consolidation program, there are several conditions you have to adhere to, namely: to give the complete monthly payment on time every time until your debts are settled and to stop using your credit card or acquiring more debts.

Benefits of debt consolidation

• Lower monthly payments – this lessens the time you are required to pay your debt and ensure that you will be able to meet daily living expenses and still save for emergencies.

• Accrued interest on loans are reduced or eliminated altogether. For example, if you have been defaulting on paying a $2000 loan for a long time and your accrued interest and late fees amount to $1500, the Consolidation Company can negotiate for the interest and late charges to be written off so you only owe $2000. Therefore, you will be able to pay your debt easily and in a shorter timeframe, accelerating your debt-free life.

• Only one monthly payment. You only need to remember one payment date reducing the probability that you will miss paying it.

• Improve credit – unpaid or late payments can reflect badly on your credit report and lower your credit score. Once you start paying, your credit will gradually improve. After your debts are paid in full, it is possible to get your credit account reported in your favor.

• Avoid harassing telephone calls from creditors – your creditors will subsequently deal with the Consolidation Company instead of you.

• Budget tips – your new repayment plan generally includes budgeting tips to help you save for emergencies, in effect there will be no need for you to borrow money again and you can start building your finances again.

Debt consolidation is often confused with debt consolidation loan. The difference is that debt consolidation means rolling multiple debts into one resulting in a single monthly payment while debt consolidation loan means taking out a loan, usually secured on any valuable assets you may have, such as your home, to cover all your current debts.

Debt Consolidation Help - What You should Consider Prior to Filing Bankruptcy

Some people regard bankruptcy as a simple method to offload a killing debt problem, and it is sometimes the first system they reach for, well it might relieve the problem, however it is far from simple and had better be the very last action you use to achieve debt relief.

Whilst the law has made it relatively simple to actually file papers, the system like any other legal proceeding is far from effortless, you will still have to justify your filing, revealing all your financial history to a judge and opening it to objections by creditors, should you actually owe the cash, they are unlikely to settle easily for 10 or 15 cents or in many cases less, on the dollar.

Even if you are successful, there are multiple long term impacts that you will want to consider carefully before taking such a drastic step.

You may lose any credit cards that have remaining balances, and others could elect to close your accounts, you will also find it difficult to get a home loan or other considerable credit line , except possibly at the kind of ruinous interest rates that most probably led, in part to your current debt problem, also, not all debts are covered even by a bankruptcy filing, student loans, back taxes within the past three years and a range of other debts are typically exempt from bankruptcy protection.

This situation will persist for up to 10 years, during which time you may need to maintain a near perfect credit history in order to build your way back to an effective level of trust, potential creditors will regard any bankruptcy as the worst criterion on any credit report, even additionally to a low FICO total score, as well as the credit impact, you might genuinely be forced to forfeit real assets such as high-priced jewelery, a boat and other items depending on when they were acquired, most states offer an exception for the principal residence and your vehicle, nonetheless if you have secondary property, this might not be protected.

In conclusion, the bankruptcy action itself is not without cost the courts always have required charges and should you need to use an attorney this too will most likely cost you, which can add the last straw to an already very poor financial problem.

On a positive note, you will acquire relief from debt collection efforts, provided they obtain notification, your income can not be garnished and any foreclosure proceedings may be stopped, by participating in proceedings sooner rather than later, you may start to build a new credit history this more often than not better than the past one. Since you will not have access to new credit cards, this can genuinely be an advantage, there are some people who simply shouldn't have access to simple credit, until and unless he or she may find a method to change their habits.