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Debt consolidation
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Debt consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan.

Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, most commonly a house. In this case, a mortgage is secured against the house. The collateralization of the loan allows a lower interest rate than without it, because by collateralizing, the asset owner agrees to allow the forced sale (foreclosure) of the asset to pay back the loan. The risk to the lender is reduced so the interest rate offered is lower.

Sometimes, debt consolidation companies can discount the amount of the loan. When the debtor is in danger of bankruptcy, the debt consolidator will buy the loan at a discount. A prudent debtor can shop around for consolidators who will pass along some of the savings. Consolidation can affect the ability of the debtor to discharge debts in bankruptcy, so the decision to consolidate must be weighed carefully.

Debt consolidation is often advisable in theory when someone is paying credit card debt. Credit cards can carry a much larger interest rate than even an unsecured loan from a bank. Debtors with property such as a home or car may get a lower rate through a secured loan using their property as collateral. Then the total interest and the total cash flow paid towards the debt is lower allowing the debt to be paid off sooner, incurring less interest. In practice, many people are in credit card debt because they spend more than their income. If that habit continues, the consolidation will not benefit them much because they will simply increase their credit card balances again.

Because of the theoretical advantage that debt consolidation offers a consumer that has high interest debt balances, companies can take advantage of that benefit of refinancing to charge very high fees in the debt consolidation loan. Sometimes these fees are near the state maximum for mortgage fees. In addition, some unscrupulous companies will knowingly wait until a client has backed themselves into a corner and must refinance in order to consolidate and pay off bills that they are behind on the payments. If the client does not refinance they may lose their house, so they are willing to pay any allowable fee to complete the debt consolidation. In some cases the situation is that the client does not have enough time to shop for another lender with lower fees and may not even be fully aware of them. This practice is known as predatory lending. Certainly many, if not most, debt consolidation transactions do not involve predatory lending.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Student loan consolidation
* 2 Concerns of consolidation
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 5 External links

[edit] Student loan consolidation

In the United States, federal student loans are consolidated somewhat differently, as federal student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government. In a federal student loan consolidation, existing loans are purchased and closed by a loan consolidation company or by the Department of Education (depending on what type of federal student loan the borrower holds). Interest rates for the consolidation are based on that year's student loan rate, which is in turn based on the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the last auction in May of each calendar year.[citation needed]

Student loan rates can fluctuate from the current low of 4.70% to a maximum of 8.25% for federal Stafford loans, 9% for PLUS loans.[citation needed] The current consolidation program allows students to consolidate once with a private lender, and reconsolidate again only with the Department of Education.[citation needed] Upon consolidation, a fixed interest rate is set based on the then-current interest rate. Reconsolidating does not change that rate. If the student combines loans of different types and rates into one new consolidation loan, a weighted average calculation will establish the appropriate rate based on the then-current interest rates of the different loans being consolidated together.

Federal student loan consolidation is often referred to as refinancing, which is incorrect because the loan rates are not changed, merely locked in. Unlike private sector debt consolidation, student loan consolidation does not incur any fees for the borrower; private companies make money on student loan consolidation by reaping subsidies from the federal government.

Student loan consolidation can be beneficial to students' credit rating, but it's important to note that not all federal student loan consolidation companies report their loans to all credit bureaus.[citation needed]

[edit] Concerns of consolidation

In recent years, reports in the media have raised concerns about the use of consolidation loans.[1] The worry is that many people are tempted to consolidate unsecured debt into secured debt, usually secured against their home. Although the monthly payments can often be lower, the total amount repaid is often significantly higher due to the long period of the loan. Debt consolidation sometimes only treats the symptoms of debt and does not address the root problem. In some circumstances, snowballing debt may be a better solution.

There are other alternatives to a debt consolidation loan, where unsecured debt is not "shifted" to secured debt, but is eliminated through a settlement or payment plan. Debt consolidation can be confusing for many people, so it is helpful to learn about all of your options, and sometimes with the help of an advisor.

[edit] See also

* List of finance topics

[edit] References

1. ^ "Home or a Loan?", BBC News, May 5, 2006


[edit] External links

* Federal Direct Consolidation Loans Information Center of the U.S. Government
* William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program
* Federal Trade Commission - Debt Consolidation

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_consolidation"

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Federal student loan consolidation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Interested in contributing to Wikipedia? •
Jump to: navigation, search
Student loans in the U.S.
Regulatory framework
Higher Education Act of 1965
US Dept of Education
FAFSA Cost of attendance
Distribution channels
Federal Direct Student Loan Program
FFELP
Loan products
Perkins · Stafford
PLUS · Consolidation Loans

Private student loan

In the United States both the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDLP) include consolidation loans that allow students to consolidate Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, and Federal Perkins Loans into one single debt. This results in reduced monthly repayments and a longer term for the loan. Unlike the other loans, consolidation loans have a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan.[1][2][3]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Interest rates and payments
* 2 History
* 3 Consolidation loan lenders
* 4 References
* 5 Further reading
* 6 External links

[edit] Interest rates and payments

Consolidation loans have longer terms than other loans. Debtors can choose terms of 10–30 years. Although the monthly repayments are lower, the total amount paid over the term of the loan is higher than would be paid with other loans. The fixed interest rate is calculated as the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated, assigning relative weights according to the amounts borrowed, rounded up to the nearest 0.125%, and capped at 8.25%. Some features of the original consolidated loans, such as postgraduation grace periods and special forgiveness circumstances, are not carried over into the consolidation loan, and consolidation loans are not universally suitable for all debtors.[3][2]

[edit] History

The Federal Loan Consolidation Program was created in 1986. In 1998, the United States Congress changed the interest rate to the aforementioned fixed rate weighted mean, effective February 1, 1999. Consolidation loans taken out before that date had a variable interest rate, determined by the individual FDLP loan origination center (e.g., in the case of a university, that university) or FFELP lender (e.g., a third party bank).[3][4]

In 2005, the Government Accountability Office considered consolidating consolidation loans so that they were exclusively managed through the FDLP. Based on several assumptions about future variations in interest rates, the loan volume, the percentage of defaulters, cost estimates from the United States Department of Education, it concluded that while doing so would incur an additional cost of $46 million, caused by the higher administrative costs of the FDLP compared to the FFELP, this would be offset by a $3,100 million saving comprised in part of avoiding $2,500 million in subsidy costs.[1]

[edit] Consolidation loan lenders

Top consolidation lenders ranked by total FY 2006 consolidation loan originations
Lender name # of loans Amt of loans ($)
Federal Direct Student Loan Program 1,169,110 $19,197,268,873
Sallie Mae 866,295 $19,841,423,841
Citibank 232,126 $4,843,119,089
Nelnet 198,624 $4,796,065,812
NextStudent 89,284 $3,320,024,025
JP Morgan Chase 115,777 $2,668,451,098
Goal Financial, LLC 111,426 $2,494,856,673
College Loan Corporation 75,360 $2,245,128,826
AES/PHEAA 166,730 $2,037,618,548
Student Loan Xpress 114,790 $1,880,997,383
Wachovia Education Finance 80,174 $1,674,979,763

SOURCE: Stafford (FFEL & Direct) and PLUS (FFEL & Direct) Loans, from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), US Department of Education, Fiscal Year 2006.[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ a b GAO-06-195 Highlights, STUDENT CONSOLIDATION LOANS: Potential Effects of Making Fiscal Year 2006 Consolidation Loans Exclusively through the Direct Loan Program (PDF). U.S. Government Accountability Office (2005-12-01).
2. ^ a b Frequently Asked Questions About Consolidation Loans. Washington State University Office of Student Financial Aid (2006-06-09).
3. ^ a b c Potier, Beth. "Amid the hype, opportunity lurks for students with loans.", Harvard Gazette, 2004-02-05.
4. ^ Types of Student Aid: Consolidation Loans. Student Guide 2001–2002. United States Department of Education.

[edit] Further reading

* Teresa Boldt (2005-06-03). "FFELP Consolidation for Students Enrolled or In-Grace: A How-To Guide for Financial Aid Administrators" (PDF). National Student Loan Program.
* Burd, Stephen. "House Committee Approves Bill to Extend Higher Education Act."", Chronicle of Higher Education, 2005-08-05.
* Federal Loan Consolidation. Pepperdine University School of Law (2006).
* Federal Loan Consolidation. Northwestern University Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid (2006).

[edit] External links

* Fact sheet from the Federal Student Aid site

This economics or finance-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
This article relating to education is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_student_loan_consolidation"

Categories: Economics and finance stubs | Education stubs | Education finance

ers credit counseling and debt consolidation plans.Source: www.consumercredit-dm.com


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Source: www.consumercredit-dm.com

posted by FederalStu_443073 at 9/23/2006 08:38:20 PM | 0 comments
Friday, September 22, 2006

FinAid | Loans | Student Loan Consolidation


Consolidation Loans combine several student or parent loans into one bigger loan from a single ... Consolidation loans are available for most federal loans, ...
Source: www.finaid.org

Student Loan Consolidation and Federal Consolidation Loans ...
Consolidate Your Student Loans with NextStudent to Lock Rates as Low as 4.5% -Quick, Easy Online Application w/ E-Sign! (800) 299-4639.
Source: www.nextstudent.com

The Student Guide 2005-2006: Loan Consolidation
With a consolidation loan, your payments might be significantly lower, ... Your parents can also get a Direct or FFEL PLUS Consolidation Loan if they have a ...
Source: studentaid.ed.gov

Questions about Federal Consolidation Loan Applications
Answers to frequently asked questions about student loan consolidation applications.
Source: www.federalconsolidation.org

Sallie Mae Federal Student Loan Consolidation
Student Loan Consolidation with Sallie Mae can cut your monthly student loan payment up to 66%. Best Student Loan Consolidation company in the country.
Source: www.salliemae.com

posted by FederalStu_443073 at 9/22/2006 09:37:38 PM | 0 comments
Thursday, September 21, 2006

Consumers are individuals or households that consume goods


Consumers are individuals or households that consume goods and services ... are talking about person as consumer, an aggregated commodity item with little ...
Source: en.wikipedia.org

Consumer Institute of New Zealand
An independent, nonprofit organisation established with the sole aim of getting the consumer a fairer deal.
Source: www.consumer.org.nz

econsumer.gov
Multilingual site from the FTC lets you file complaints about online transactions with a foreign company, get safe shopping tips, and contact consumer agencies worldwide.
Source: www.econsumer.gov

New Products - Consumer
Home > New Product Zone - Consumer. New Product Zone. Consumer Products. Office Products ... Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. ...
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posted by FederalStu_443073 at 9/21/2006 03:39:46 PM | 0 comments
Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Debt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Household debt is the debt held by households. "National" or Public debt is the ... Total debt is the sum of all those debts, excluding financial debt to ...
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Knee Deep In Debt
Self help, debt consolidation, credit counseling, bankruptcy.
Source: www.ftc.gov

Life and Debt | A Film By Stephanie Black
Official site includes detailed description of the film's content, credits and details of screenings.
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Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt
Is there a budget surplus? You can find out for yourself. If the National Debt is increasing, then the Treasury Department is borrowing, and there must be a ...
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posted by FederalStu_443073 at 9/20/2006 02:36:39 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, September 17, 2006

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Source: www.debtworkout.com

Consumer Debt Consolidation - Concept of bad credit:In developed ...
consumer debt consolidation - A person with bad credit faces immense difficulties to manipulate and manage their bad credit history.

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