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Dik Hz posted:The way servicers acted in the Obama years is lightyears ahead of what came before it. Not saying it wasn't worse. Just didn't really work as was claimed.
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Mar 19, 2019 21:52
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Honestly an error wherein principal is ever paid before interest is in your favor since interest doesn't accrue on uncapitalized interest, I think? Not a problem I would particularly try to fix.
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Mar 22, 2019 09:51
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I hope this doesn't come off as completely stupid but I wasn't familiar with how long electronic transfers can take when you want to pay extra on your loans to help pay them off. Interest accrues daily during this transfer process meaning that the amount you submit to be paid off will not match the balance applied to at the time the transfer completes. In my case it was easy enough to call my bank and loan servicer (nelnet) up and ask for the expected total at the expected time of complete transfer to account for everything, but it did leave me scratching my head at first. It may not be a correct perception on my part, but it felt like it seemed harder than it should have been to give someone money to end my loan and stop the interest from working. This process took about 5-6 business days to reach confirmation. Hope this helps anyone else looking to pay down or pay off their loans. Again, this is only for an ACH transfer. Wire would be the same day but has a fee that costs more than the daily accrued interest. Nelnet didn't have a physical location to walk in and deposit same day so I didn't see a better option and even if they did, it seemed uncomfortable to get the amount of physical cash for it. A check still has a holding time. Maybe a certified check would have worked, not sure though. All that being said, I'm done with my student loans, car payment and no longer have debt.  Thank you, BFC sub-forum. On to the next steps.
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Mar 23, 2019 21:22
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Hello! I just got a job with my state government, and it's time for me to start paying back my loans. After looking around the nelnet site, it suggests that income based repayment (which the OP stated is not the best option) means loans can be forgiven at some point, whereas the term based plan states they cannot be forgiven. My two current questions are: -Will working a government job help with my loans at all? -What would my best option be if not? Thanks!
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Apr 1, 2019 20:34
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Stool Sample posted:Hello! If you're working directly for the government your job will likely qualify for PSLF forgiveness with some conditions. Check with HR and see if they have any info on PSLF. A few things to keep in mind 1) PSLF is a pain in the rear end to comply with 2) Your loans will continue to accrue interest if your IDR payment is less than the interest 3) The program is on kind of shaky ground 4) Only certain federal loan types are eligible (private loans are never eligible) Depending on how much you make and the balance of your loans it may make sense to pursue PSLF, but if you make a decent amount and your loan balance isn't too high it might make sense to just pay them off. If you want more info or help navigating PSLF let me know - I might be able to help with my experience navigating the system.
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Apr 1, 2019 21:34
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I am working directly for the gov, and all of my loans were through the FAFSA (so I believe they're all federal). I'll definitely go to HR about this when I start out, but the issue is I start on the 16th and my first loan payment is due on the 9th, and the standard 10-year plan payment is pretty steep for me right now. I'm guessing you can change repayment plans at least once, but how long would I have to wait if I needed to do that? What should I go with now so that I don't miss this payment and however many more before I settle into a more permanent plan?
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Apr 2, 2019 01:31
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Stool Sample posted:I am working directly for the gov, and all of my loans were through the FAFSA (so I believe they're all federal). I'll definitely go to HR about this when I start out, but the issue is I start on the 16th and my first loan payment is due on the 9th, and the standard 10-year plan payment is pretty steep for me right now. I'm guessing you can change repayment plans at least once, but how long would I have to wait if I needed to do that? What should I go with now so that I don't miss this payment and however many more before I settle into a more permanent plan? Are you just out of school? If you haven't made any payments yet it might be worth it to do a DIRECT consolation through the department of education. This will reduce the number of individual loans, and when you consolidate it will ask if you are interested in PSLF, and it will move the loan to the appropriate loan servicer (fedloan). If you have already made payments on your loans, in the event you consolidate, those payments WILL NOT count toward PSLF. As far as your loans go, not all federal loans qualify for PSLF either. You should read some more info on the program and look at what types of loans you have. Student loan hero has some good info. As far as income driven repayment (IDR) plans go, you can submit the paperwork whenever you want, and it is based on your current paystub or previous years taxes. The payment can be as low as $0 and still count towards PSLF forgiveness. A list of things off the top of my head that I do to stay on top of the program. 1) Save a copy of every single paystub to prove employment 2) Submit PSLF cert form at least once a year 3) Submit annual IDR certification. 4) Check that payments go through as they should be (I've had to call the servicer and have them fix some issues) Again, the program is a pain in the rear end and you will have to invest significant time into ensuring that you are complying with all the requirements. Keep in mind that if you go down this path you will need to work for government or a 501c3 for at least 10 years. State government can generally give that stability at least. If your loan balance is high enough that it would be impossible for you to pay it off within 10 years I'd consider PSLF. If you think you can pay it off sooner than 10 years I'd recommend trying to do that, since there is no guarantee it will continue to exist. I am personally relying on being grandfathered into the program if it is stopped because the loan balance is too high to pay off. In the meantime the loans are increasing in unpaid interest which is a lovely feeling. It's a good program if you can make it to the end but there are a lot of barriers. I can try to answer any other questions you might have. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions you don't want to post ITT.
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Apr 2, 2019 03:01
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Sub Rosa fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Apr 25, 2019 |
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Apr 2, 2019 03:31
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Hey all, I'm graduating with my Master's in Public Administration soon, with my focus being on nonprofit management. I've worked in nonprofits/government agencies for several years and anticipate doing so from here on forward. I have a fair amount of student loans that I have paid a little on, but put them on hold as I went back to school. I'm looking at how I want to start repaying them and I have some questions. Is the Public Service Loan Forgiveness thing actually legit? I feel like I've heard a lot of bad things about it not coming through in the end, or how someone had the "status" of their organization change silently while they were working and even though they were paying loans it was considered a "missed" payment and they lost the benefit. How does PSLF actually function? One of the options on the general student loan website suggests that literally half of my loans could be payed off by the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system over 10 years, which just seems...too good to be true. If I did try and do PSLF, what happens if 5-years into my 120 month repayment plan I get a new job in the private sector, or lose a job for a few months but I still pay my loans, I'm just not working for a government or nonprofit agency at the time? Do I just lose all the benefits?
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Apr 2, 2019 19:35
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Yorkshire Pudding posted:Hey all, Congrats! Yorkshire Pudding posted:
Yes, unless Congress changes it, it is federal law. And even if they change it the change would likely be forward looking as the terms are written into your Master Promissory Note. I feel strongly enough about this that I gave up a private sector job that would have let me pay off my 6 figures of debt in <2 years to go work for the govt. Time will tell if I'm a chump or not. Yorkshire Pudding posted:How does PSLF actually function? You make 120 on time payments (do not have to be consecutive, $0 payments count), under a qualifying repayment plan, while working for a covered employer. At the end you send in an application, DOE verifies that you met the criteria and if you did, write off any remaining balance. They recommend you verify your employment status annually, at which point they will calculate the number of qualifying payments you've made. But you're not technically required to do this. Yorkshire Pudding posted:If I did try and do PSLF, what happens if 5-years into my 120 month repayment plan I get a new job in the private sector, or lose a job for a few months but I still pay my loans, I'm just not working for a government or nonprofit agency at the time? Do I just lose all the benefits? You would get no benefit during a time frame where you aren't working or are working in the private sector. If you later returned to a qualifying employer and continued making payments, the count would keep up where you left off. If you never did, you would receive no benefit from PSLF. It's all or nothing.
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Apr 2, 2019 20:00
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Thanks for the informative reply! So I have several years of experience in nonprofits, including 2 years of Peace Corps experience. I have probably made like 12 months or loan payments since I graduated with my Bachelor's in 2012. I guess I'm not understanding how the loan works in relation to the time/payments. Let's say I have exactly $60k in student loans. Just looking at the StudentLoans.gov website, it says if I make a normal standard payment of, say, $500 a month I will be paid off in 10 years. But there's no PSLF option for that. If I choose a repayment plan with a lower monthly payment, like the Revived Pay as you Earn (REPAYE), it tells me that my monthly payment is only like $250, and that half my total loan would be repaid through the PSLF program. So how does that work, I just pay a lower amount for 10 years, and at that 10 year mark they just pay off the remaining balance? What if at year 9 I go into a different sector for 3 years, I have to change my repayment plan to something else? And if I go back into the public sector for one more year, after that 1 year I then qualify for that big loan payoff? Edit: it was this article I read about it a while ago, but I can't really speak on how accurate it is https://www.npr.org/2018/10/17/653853227/the-student-loan-whistleblower Yorkshire Pudding fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Apr 2, 2019 |
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Apr 2, 2019 20:24
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1) Correct, because PSLF is based on 10 years of payments. If you pay them off at or before 10 years there is nothing left to forgive. 2) Yes 3) Sector doesn't matter but it had to be government or 501c3. If you work for 9 years for a qualified entity, took 3 years off, and made the last 12 qualifying payments then it could submit for forgiveness. Your undergrad loans might qualify before your grad school loans. Not all loans are eligible for PSLF (no private loans are, some federal don't qualifiy).
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Apr 2, 2019 20:34
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So then what happens if I get 9 years in on a REPAYE plan, leave the public sector forever and have only paid off half my loans. I just need to do a different repayment plan and pay the remaining off? Additionally, don't you have to qualify for an Income Driven Repayment plan? I'm not sure I will, as I can reasonably just pay the standard price.
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Apr 2, 2019 20:45
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Yeah like The Slack Lagoon says, REPAYE is one of the qualifying repayment plans for PSLF, which include all the income driven plans and the standard 10-year repayment plan. PSLF per se is not a repayment plan. Yeah if you decide to switch permanently to a non qualifying employer part way through, you would have to pay off the rest of the loans, but again could use any repayment plan you qualify for. So it's possible that some or all of your bachelor's degree payments already qualify. I hadn't read that article, though I was aware of some of the problems people have been having. I lost one qualifying payment when I submitted my first Employment Certification Form, because my servicer was changed. I made the payment but they just didn't apply it. After multiple calls trying to fix it I just gave up and decided to eat the ~$1,000. But other than that hiccup I'm on track. I make 6 figures (barely) and qualify for IDR. It depends on how much you owe, family size, and how much you make. It's calculated based off your MAGI, so pretax retirement account contributions aren't counted, among other things.
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Apr 2, 2019 20:49
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Yorkshire Pudding posted:So then what happens if I get 9 years in on a REPAYE plan, leave the public sector forever and have only paid off half my loans. I just need to do a different repayment plan and pay the remaining off? Yeah you would have to pay the rest off. If you have a higher income and lower balance loans it may make sense to pay the loan off on the normal schedule or pay it off in less than 10 years. The DOE has an IDR calculator where you can plug in your info and see if you might qualify for one of the payment options
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Apr 2, 2019 20:51
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Also a lot of the reason that tens of thousands of people we're denied pslf forgiveness is because they did not understand the program requirements and we're never going to qualify in the first place. You have to have the right loans, have the right type of payments (for ten years) and have the right kind of job (for ten years). When I was looking I to PSLF in 2013 there was barely any I about it out there. If you can imagine that people that tried to qualify in 2017 had even less info when the program started in 2007. It's not a great fit for everyone. For my and my wife's situation we chose to go down that the PSLF path because it made financial sense. It may not for you.
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Apr 2, 2019 20:56
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See that's the thing. As it stands now, I can just start making the normal payments on my 10-year plan. It just seems like a lot to ride on for something 10-years down the road. Given that I'm pretty sure I will be able to make the standard payments from here on out it seems like it's just more reasonable. But this is all awesome advice, and thanks so much for the help. I'll need to look into this more as I graduate next month.
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Apr 2, 2019 20:57
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Hi thread. I got a call from a collection company claiming they have one of my student loans a couple of weeks ago. Evidently it was given to me by the school as part of my financial aid for one semester in 2010 and was only $1,500. I had no idea about it because, like most kids, I just signed on whatever to keep going to college and assumed that I had been doing the right thing paying all the loans that MEFA had for me over the years. The school never once contacted me about it and it isn't on any of my credit reports as far as I can tell (neither in collections nor in my account history). I'm cool with paying it, obviously, but the provider has tacked on "creditor fees" that exceed the original amount of the loan which seems insane to me. Is there anything I should/could do about any of this? The loan was given out in MA in case state laws have anything to do with it. The March Hare fucked around with this message at 18:40 on Apr 3, 2019 |
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Apr 3, 2019 18:30
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The March Hare posted:Hi thread. I got a call from a collection company claiming they have one of my student loans a couple of weeks ago. Evidently it was given to me by the school as part of my financial aid for one semester in 2010 and was only $1,500. I had no idea about it because, like most kids, I just signed on whatever to keep going to college and assumed that I had been doing the right thing paying all the loans that MEFA had for me over the years. The school never once contacted me about it and it isn't on any of my credit reports as far as I can tell (neither in collections nor in my account history). It might be Perkins loan, in which case it should show up in the NSLDS. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask them for a promissory note to prove that you took out this loan. It's not impossible that they've made a mistake. You can check the NSLDS here: https://nslds.ed.gov/nslds/nslds_SA/
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Apr 3, 2019 18:58
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The March Hare posted:Hi thread. I got a call from a collection company claiming they have one of my student loans a couple of weeks ago. Evidently it was given to me by the school as part of my financial aid for one semester in 2010 and was only $1,500. I had no idea about it because, like most kids, I just signed on whatever to keep going to college and assumed that I had been doing the right thing paying all the loans that MEFA had for me over the years. The school never once contacted me about it and it isn't on any of my credit reports as far as I can tell (neither in collections nor in my account history).
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Apr 4, 2019 02:05
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Good info, thanks everyone! I checked nslds and I don't see it there either. I sent an email to the school asking them for more info about the loans at any rate.
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Apr 4, 2019 14:56
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Huh! Well if it's not on your credit report or in the NSLDS, they definitely need to provide proof that this is your loan.
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Apr 4, 2019 16:17
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Huh, I got a message from myfedloans that they miscalculated my pslf payments... In my favor. 
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Apr 5, 2019 16:39
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Having trouble refinancing loans and need help. I have one private loan that is under my name and social, and two parent plus loans that are under my parents names and socials (do not show up on any credit report). I can refi these for a pretty good fixed rate of 3.9% and cut the repay period in half. The problem is that no company will touch the two that are not in my name (even though they are my loans). Does anyone know if either of the following situations will work: My parents go through the process of adding me as a cosignor so that it shows up on my credit report , then I refi them out of their names. The more painful option: If I cannot be added as a cosignor, then they refi them with me specifically as a cosignor. Then I refi them out of their names and into mine. The last resort: refi them with their information and keep paying them as I always have (I suspect their interest rate will be far higher than mine, as my wife and I make alot more than my parents do.) The refi companies I have talked with seem to get hung up on the fact that these loans won't show up on my credit statement. If this is something I just need to call and try and figure out than I can but wanted to check with people that were not mindless drones at these companies first.
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Apr 25, 2019 00:02
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Lord of Garbagemen posted:Having trouble refinancing loans and need help. The Parent PLUS loans are only in their names in terms of credit. I'm not actually sure if you can refinance them as a cosigner and change them to your name etc., as I always recommend against refinancing any federal loans into private loans. The federal loans have a lot of built-in protections that your parents (and you) will lose if you refinance them into private loans.
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Apr 25, 2019 00:54
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With the way parent loans are set up, I don't think there is a way to get them under your name. Right now the loan is legally theirs and any money you give them to repay it is considered a gift. Is there any reason why they can't just refinance the loan themselves? If their credit is really bad and they can't repay the loan without getting money from you, I would suggest having all of you meet with a financial professional. There may be other ways to reduce their payments and have more of the money you give them go to other things.
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Apr 25, 2019 01:19
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Is it possible to refinance parts of a group of loans? We’ve got around 27k at 6.55% I’d like to refinance, and 50k at 3.25 I would like to not touch, since it would increase the rate. They’re all held by Mohela at present.
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Apr 26, 2019 12:27
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Assuming these are federal, you used to be able to select specific loans to consolidate. Not sure if you still can but it would be on the application if so. Which of the interest rates has the higher balance? If you consolidate federal loans together, the lowest interest raye can decrease the higher one (we used to call it a weighted average). If your balance is higher on the higher rate, it wouldn't hurt to check into potential interest savings. If they're private loans, that same trick doesn't work.
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Apr 26, 2019 16:15
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Wiggy Marie posted:Assuming these are federal, you used to be able to select specific loans to consolidate. Not sure if you still can but it would be on the application if so. They’re still federal loans with Mohela. The lower rate has the higher balance, such that if I refinanced all of them it would on balance increase the effective interest rate. I’m probably 1-1.5 years from paying off the 6.55% stuff so it’s not the end of the world, but we had some job changes so I did reduce the amount I was paying enough I wanted to see the options.
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Apr 26, 2019 16:18
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Velius posted:They’re still federal loans with Mohela. The lower rate has the higher balance, such that if I refinanced all of them it would on balance increase the effective interest rate. I’m probably 1-1.5 years from paying off the 6.55% stuff so it’s not the end of the world, but we had some job changes so I did reduce the amount I was paying enough I wanted to see the options. Awesome! You're in a good position for your higher balance then. If you can afford to pay on them separately, that's better for your savings for the interest rate increase you mentioned. Direct is the only lender that can consolidate now. You should be able to fill out the application without submitting it if you want to see your rate options. It should give you estimates/amortization schedules/etc.
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Apr 26, 2019 16:21
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Alright, I'm not from the US and have never dealt with student loans so I apologize in advance for being dense. I'm currently in the process of building a proper budget with my partner since we are about to move in together and I want to get on top of his student debt. He is currently in deferrment with four loans until January 2020. He is a PhD student outside of the US but will be finished with his program at that point, at which he will be a full-time hire at the company he's currently part-timing with. That's the point at which we want to start paying off the loans. A quick run-down of the loans Loan A - 11k Principal, 6.8% Interest, Federal - Nelnet Loan B - 10k Principal, 6.8% Interest, Federal - Nelnet Loan C - 14k Principal, 5.4% Interest, Federal - Nelnet Loan D - 9k Principal, 5% Interest, Private (??) - Christopher H. Porter Loan Program The last loan is a bit of a weird one because we don't have an online log-in for it and it just appears to be directly through the University of Utah. Sadly the university's website is a trash fire and we haven't found a clear way to set up payments or access info online, so we're waiting to hear back via email. We're eager to get all set up to pay off the loans fast once we both have a full-time income starting next year. How can we best set ourselves up for that, our own budgeting aside? Does it make sense at all to consolidate the Nelnet loans? Is there anything else we can take advantage of?
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Apr 28, 2019 16:33
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How can I get a private lender to refinance my awful 13% private student loan rate? The one time I tried they said my debt to income was too high. Which makes no sense becsuse there loan would replace my current loan and be less monthly. 785 credit score btw. Never missed a payment on my loans in the past 8 years. I also can't use navirefi that I got invited to becsuse my poo poo school closed down.
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May 2, 2019 19:48
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You'll need to shop around and see if you can a company willing to do it. Simpletuition.com might be able to steer you to a few.
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May 3, 2019 01:00
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Holyshoot posted:Which makes no sense becsuse there loan would replace my current loan and be less monthly.
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May 3, 2019 02:41
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Dik Hz posted:The new bank couldn't care less how much risk your original student lender took on. What do you mean? So every bank is going to just see there 27k loan as an added loan on top of my current debt. And never care about me actually being able to afford it?
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May 3, 2019 17:39
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Holyshoot posted:What do you mean? So every bank is going to just see there 27k loan as an added loan on top of my current debt. And never care about me actually being able to afford it?
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May 4, 2019 05:51
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My sister needs wants to take out a private loan before she goes to med school, are there any good resources we may have missed it does anyone have any advice?
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May 9, 2019 14:25
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CongoJack posted:My sister needs wants to take out a private loan before she goes to med school, are there any good resources we may have missed it does anyone have any advice? She could check with the school itself to see if they have any banks they recommend. Simpletuition.com is my other go-to. Is she unable to take out a GradPLUS loan for med school?
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May 9, 2019 15:33
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Wiggy Marie posted:She could check with the school itself to see if they have any banks they recommend. Simpletuition.com is my other go-to. Is she unable to take out a GradPLUS loan for med school? Yes she is looking at a couple her school pointed her at, I asked her about the GradPLUS and she isn't eligible yet. The simpletuition site was helpful, thank you for that.
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May 10, 2019 03:35
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Just stopped by to say that I recently paid off a undergraduate student loan that had been hanging around for much too long. Feels good.
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May 14, 2019 15:31
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