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So basically I graduated school with a fair bit of loans. The loans were split up into four separate ones. One loan was initially $16,000 but garnered an interest rate of 9% under Chase Bank. So it was around $23,000 by the time I began to pay it. I had two more separate loans that were under a Credit Union, that were both about $7,000 each at 6.5% interest. I also had one under Wells Fargo that was $4,500 under a 10.5% interest rate. Fast forward to today, around three years after I started paying, I managed to pay one of the loans of the Credit Union fully off, as well as the Wells Fargo loan. So those two are paid in full and done. However, I still have the Chase Bank loan and one of the credit union loans left. The is, while the Credit Union loan has a reasonable interest rate, the Chase one is very high. What's worse is that it has a variable interest rate. So now it's 9.75%. So out of my $219 payment, $53.25 is the principal while $166.53 is interest. This made me wonder if it would be better to just get the loans consolidated instead. One big difference between now and when I took out the loans when I was 18, is that I have a fantastic credit score. In the high 700s, if not 800s. So I should be able to get a pretty good interest rate. However, the Chase loan (the bigger one) is a private student loan, while the Credit Union one is a Stafford loan. So I assume that may complicate things. In short, I'm just wondering what would be the best coarse for me to go. Should I try consolidating these two loans or something similar to get a better interest rate and a smaller payment? Or should just buckle down and try to up my monthly payments for the Chase loan?
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Jul 26, 2017 04:01
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| # ? May 5, 2024 03:24 |
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Your credit union ones are at pretty reasonable rates. I'd leave those be. The Chase bank and Wells Fargo loans though, I'd look into consolidating. If your credit is as good as you say it is, it shouldn't be too hard getting a loan to consolidate those two together. Heck, maybe even go back to the credit union and see what you can get.
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Jul 26, 2017 14:40
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IronDoge posted:Your credit union ones are at pretty reasonable rates. I'd leave those be. The Chase bank and Wells Fargo loans though, I'd look into consolidating. If your credit is as good as you say it is, it shouldn't be too hard getting a loan to consolidate those two together. Heck, maybe even go back to the credit union and see what you can get. The Wells Fargo one is already paid in full and done. I just have the private Chase Bank and one of the Credit Union loans left.
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Jul 26, 2017 15:11
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If your income and credit are good, you can refinance student loans to lower rates, and a lot of banks have referral bonuses so shop around. White Coat Investor(.com) has a list of places that have referral bonuses You won't get the lowest advertised rate unless you have perfect credit and doctor level income but you can absolutely do better than what you have now
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Jul 26, 2017 20:37
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antiga posted:If your income and credit are good, you can refinance student loans to lower rates, and a lot of banks have referral bonuses so shop around. White Coat Investor(.com) has a list of places that have referral bonuses What's a referral bonus? And if I refinance the loan, will it start with the amount I owe right now or the initial loan amount?
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Jul 26, 2017 20:45
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The bonus is an incentive paid by a bank for you to refinance with them instead of someone else, usually $100-200. You'd refinance the full amount you owe now, the initial amount is not relevant.
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Jul 26, 2017 20:51
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antiga posted:The bonus is an incentive paid by a bank for you to refinance with them instead of someone else, usually $100-200. You'd refinance the full amount you owe now, the initial amount is not relevant. Oh sweet, so no penalty. Any standout banks/credit unions you'd recommend? Also, someone told me that consolidation rates are high now and it's best to wait until they lower. Also, are there any downsides to consolidation?
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Jul 26, 2017 21:02
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| # ? May 5, 2024 03:24 |
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I'm on a phone, google white coat investor student loan refinancing and read his articles on it, that should be enough. The only downsides come in when you're refinancing Federal loans that have various protections, but that doesn't apply to your case E: don't try to time the market on interest rates, anything will be an improvement from the rate you have now so it makes little sense to wait
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Jul 26, 2017 21:10
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