Thursday, October 21, 2010

Finding a Reputable Student Loan Consolidation Lender


Finding a Reputable Student Loan Consolidation Lender

 
A typical consolidation loan designed to deal with student loans combines several student or parent loans for students into one comprehensive loan from one single lender. Consolidation loans are available for most federal student loans including FFELP (Stafford, PLUS and SLS), FISL, Perkins, NSL, HEAL, Guaranteed Student Loans and Direct loans. Generally, a person can end up saving money on the interest rate associated with a consolidated student loan. The interest rate is computed on a consolidation loan by weighing the average of all the existing interest rates on the student or parent loans that currently are in place. The consolidated student loan will be capped at 8.25% and will also be rounded up to the nearest 1/8 of a percent. While you can save money on the consolidated rate in some instances, you do need to keep in mind that the weighted average actually may not change the underlying interested cost of the loan overall because it actually is the average of the interest rates for the overall loan balance of the individual existing loans.

However, if the cap does come into play depending on current interest rates, there can be a savings in regard to the interest rate charged. The bottom line is that you do need to be aware of how your interest rate ultimately will be effected should you elect to consolidate student loans. You simply cannot make any assumptions about the ultimate interest cost associated with a consolidated student loan. You need to keep in mind that no reputable lender will require you to pay any sort of fee upfront and in advance of making application for a consolidated student loan.

If a lender does require you to pay any sort of fee in advance of applying for federal education loan or to consolidate your student loans, there is a problem with the lender and you must beware. In other words, you need to go somewhere else.. A student or a parent borrower can consolidate student loans although the student and the parent cannot combine the loans into one consolidation. In other words, if a student has received both direct student loans and financing for college through a parental student-intended loan, there will need to be two separate loan consolidations – one for the direct students loans and one for the parent student-intended loans. As an aside, married students historically could consolidate their student loans together but this no longer is the case. They must each obtain their own, individual consolidation loan.


When it comes to seeking a consolidated student loan, there can be a rather significant different in the other fees, costs and charges that are assessed by a lender. Therefore, it is important for a person looking to consolidate student loans to closely examine all options that are available. Ideally, of course, a person looking for a student loan consolidation will want to obtain financing that provides the lowest charges when it comes to these various fees, costs and charges.


When you consolidate student loans, you can lower your monthly student loan payment by as much as 60 percent. The key is to find the right lender and the right interest rate.


When comparing lenders, you should consider payment fees, interest rates, and loan terms. If you are looking for reputable student loan consolidators online, there are three companies that I highly recommend. These companies can offer you the best rates and save you money by consolidating your student loans

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