Monday, September 28, 2009

Obama's Greatest Guide on Debt Consolidation Loans

"Debt consolidation –It is the procedure of bringing together all your outstanding debts and loans into one bill consolidation loan. This loan helps you convert all the interest from your other debts into one easy to manage payment per month. Best Debt consolidation loans should lower interest rates and help you pay off your debt quicker."

There are debt consolidation companies that can counsel you on the best debt consolidation loans for your specific situation. They can handle payments for your account and help lower your rates. Before applying to a bill consolidation company, you should compare their rates, free debt consolidation quotes and terms of agreement with those of other companies. Bill consolidation companies are also known as debt management companies. The aim of these companies is to eliminate your short-term debt within a short period of time depending on your particular situation. They have the professional expertise to negotiate with your creditors and reduce your interest rates. In some cases, your creditors may agree to waive any late repayment fees and other charges, given that your debt consolidation company is really good.

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All you’ll have to do then is just pay the credit card debt consolidation company one monthly payment that includes their fees. They then pay the accounts that you have been consolidated. There are some interest rates that cannot be consolidated. These can include student loans and mortgage payments for which there is federal loan consolidation and student loan consolidation. A monthly fee to the consolidation company is the most frequent practice, although some companies charge large “upfront” fees instead. Several clients drop out of the consolidation contract before the term ends, so monthly fees are a better choice. Some creditors may report your use of a bill consolidation company to the main credit reporting agencies. This can momentarily stop you from opening any new accounts. After a few months of maintaining regular payments, you may be eligible for a new account.

When looking for a bill consolidation companies, try to find the one that deals exclusively with debt management . Companies that deal with a mixture of services, such as bankruptcy or debt negotiation, do not always have a good record. Make sure you know when your accounts will be paid off in full. Good Debt Consolidation companies will be able to give you a date when each of your accounts will be paid in full. Also compare fees of one Consolidation Company with another. Request free debt consolidation quotes from a few different companies; you may discover the differences to be pretty big. Once you have chosen the right company, you can then go ahead with the Debt Consolidation process.


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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Consolidate to lock in lower student-loan rates

Should I consolidate my student loans due to the new interest rates?

There are new interest rates for variable federal Stafford and PLUS loans issued between July 1, 1998 and July 1, 2006. The new rates for Stafford Loans are 2.48 percent (down from 4.21 percent) for loans that are being repayed and 1.88 percent (down from 3.61 percent) for loans that have a grace period or are deferred or are for students still in school. PLUS loans have dropped to 3.25 percent from 5.01 percent.

Borrowers with variable-rate federal student loans can lock in the current variable rate on their loans by consolidating them. The interest rate on a consolidation loan is a fixed rate that is equal to the weighted average of the current applicable interest rates on the loans being consolidated, rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a point.


If you consolidate now and rates drop even lower, can you consolidate again down the road?

Borrowers can only consolidate once. If they’ve done so previously, they will not be able to take advantage of the new low rates. Also, private student loans cannot be included in a federal consolidation loan.


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Friday, August 28, 2009

The Secrets to Finding a Student Loan

The credit crunch and debacle on Wall Street have wiped out those easy-peasy $40,000 college loans that used to be all over late-night TV. And the feds are considering a dramatic consolidation of the educational lending industry that could reduce options still further. But no matter what happens in Washington or on Wall Street this year or next, most students will still be able to borrow enough to cover the bulk of tuition at their local public university at a reasonable cost from the feds.

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One of the most surprising results of the turmoil in the lending markets is how students' loan options have diverged from parents'. Here are the key things both should bear in mind:

DEALS FOR STUDENTS. Students should always start with the feds. The first step: filling out the FAFSA form, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

All full-time students who complete a FAFSA and a federal loan agreement provided by their school's financial aid office can borrow at least $5,500 a year through the Stafford student loan program. Students who are at least 24 or whose parents have bad credit can get Stafford loans of up to $9,500 to $12,500, depending on their year. This fall, Staffords will charge no more than 6.8 percent a year in interest plus a 1.5 percent upfront fee, for an average annual percentage rate of 7.1 percent.

Low-income students generally qualify for better deals. Some will receive federal Perkins loans, which charge no interest while students are in school and just 5 percent after they leave. And most needy students will receive "subsidized" Stafford loans, which for the academic year starting this September will charge no interest while students are in school and 5.6 percent after they leave.

Need more? Uh-oh! Dropping out of college is usually far more expensive, in the long run, than sticking it out and graduating to qualify for better jobs, so it can pay to borrow a little extra to make it to commencement. The problem is that students who need more than the government will lend have few good choices, says Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com. Here are some possibilities:

Charities and colleges. A few charities, such as Maryland's Central Scholarship Bureau and the Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis, award interest-free loans to a handful of needy students each year. And some colleges, including the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, are trying to un-crunch credit by making loans themselves. But beware: Lauren Asher, acting president of the Institute for College Access and Success, warns that while many of these are good deals, students shouldn't automatically accept every loan they are offered.


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