Student Loan Consolidation?

[viceroy]

So I have started the dreaded payback of my student loads. I have been getting offers from various companies to consolidate them, but who should I go with? Does anyone have any experiences or advice?

Thanks in advance.
Steve

[Jenks]

Advice...


if you're consolidating with Federal Student Aid, Direct Loans, etc...

make sure you get a good rate, because you can only do it once.

[thesightless]

yup. he is spot on. one thing though, some people prefer to wait unti lright after the beginning of a fiscal quater to see if the rates drop, its a risk as they may increase but you can benifit, also you can lose out.

also, speak to your accountant about taking the federal student loan interest credits.(also, your state may offer something similar, not sure about california though, a lot of democratic states tend to have higher taxes, just like NY)

good luck

[Jenks]

student loan interest is 100% deductible.

[musicnazi]

student loan intrest is only deductible if you make below a certain $ amount.

the goverment regulates the rates for loan consolidation so you will get the same interest rate across the board with one caveat... private companies usually offer a .25% deduction on your student loans if you have direct withdrawls from your checking account... some offer another .25% deduction for on time payments for a year...

so all in all go with a private company and do no consolidate thru the gov in order to access the benefits above...

good luck... I started with 90k in student loans... am down to about 40k now... they suck... should have gone to a public school...

[Jenks]

also 100% deductible if the government THINKS you make below a certain amount of money.

gotta love accountants.

[thesightless]

gotta love accountants.

i need more clients like you. have 3000 appointments in the books at our place and i had to listen to a guy actually say "" well, if cant be seen this week, then im afriad i cant do business with your company""(this morning).

i said " ok, sorry" hung up. and he called back and took a 9 PM appt on March 24th. :P

still, he will show up one night this week and say he needs to be seen, i can guarantee.

[palmer]

yeah I've got about 100k that I'm going to start paying next year.....

I've been getting all kinds of shit in the mail, probably since the day I got my first loan, about consolidations. Can't say I have an accountant to talk to but I'll figure something out.

[skahound]

yup. he is spot on. one thing though, some people prefer to wait unti lright after the beginning of a fiscal quater to see if the rates drop, its a risk as they may increase but you can benifit, also you can lose out.

Plan on losing out for a while. The Fed is almost certainly going to raise rates tomorrow. Probably somewhere in the 25 bip range.

[rewing3]

Do not us any of those stupid loan consolidating company. They will just rip you off. Your best bet is consolidate your loan through the gov't loan office. That is what I did and It is not that bad. After the first yr of paying your loan off. You get a 1/4% reduction and then a 1/2% 6 months after that. I think my interest rate now is like under 4%. If I am not mistaken.

[viceroy]

thanks for your help everyone

[toasty]

student loan intrest is only deductible if you make below a certain $ amount.

I think this blows. There is a way to reclaim your deduction, though. Mortgage interest will be deductible even when you make enough that student loan interest is not -- use the equity in your home to pay down/pay off your student loans. Provided your mortgage rate is lower than the rate you would be paying on your student loan, you pay less for the money AND get to deduct the interest b/c it is no longer student loan interest...

Might be worth it, it just depends upon your situation.