Personal loans for debt repayment -- private versus other physician loans?

[da8s0859q]

Subject says it all, really. I took out a residency relocation loan to cover moving expenses and buffer things until residency paychecks started coming in, but I'm at the point where I would like to take out a substantial personal loan to knock out higher-interest debt (not federal student loans), preferably one with deferral/forbearance options until later in residency.

I'm a PGY1 of 3 and will not be able to moonlight until summer/fall of 2015.

Anyone have any suggestions on "good" lenders from which to get such a thing?

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[The White Coat Investor]

Subject says it all, really. I took out a residency relocation loan to cover moving expenses and buffer things until residency paychecks started coming in, but I'm at the point where I would like to take out a substantial personal loan to knock out higher-interest debt (not federal student loans), preferably one with deferral/forbearance options until later in residency.

I'm a PGY1 of 3 and will not be able to moonlight until summer/fall of 2015.

Anyone have any suggestions on "good" lenders from which to get such a thing?

I'm not sure I understand your situation. As near as I can tell you have:

1) Student loans at 6.8%/7.9%
2) A residency relocation loan
3) Some "higher interest rate" loan, such as credit cards, that you'd like to consolidate at a lower rate and somehow get the payments deferred until you're out of residency.

I'm not sure you're going to find a loan like that. I think you'd have to mention what your rates and amounts are to get the best advice. But it sounds like a little Dave Ramseyeque-get-out-of-debt advice is probably in order, so here goes:

You can't borrow your way out of debt. Why not use your current income to pay back the higher interest debt?

You might be able to consolidate the loans, and maybe even at a lower rate (perhaps Lending Club or Prosper if your credit is good), but deferred? I doubt it. You might be able to do the 0% transfer thing for a couple of years. That would work out to ~ 4% a year, assuming people would continue to lend to you.

 

[da8s0859q]

Basically, yes. Student loans at 6.8% plus a private residency relocation loan, both of which will be in forbearance (with IBR on the federal loans when that becomes applicable later this year).

What I was looking to do is find a way to land an unsecured loan -- either a good old private, personal loan, or a physician loan through one of those companies (SunTrust which gets a lot of bad press here on SDN, etc) -- to pay off higher-interest credit lines.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Basically, yes. Student loans at 6.8% plus a private residency relocation loan, both of which will be in forbearance (with IBR on the federal loans when that becomes applicable later this year).

What I was looking to do is find a way to land an unsecured loan -- either a good old private, personal loan, or a physician loan through one of those companies (SunTrust which gets a lot of bad press here on SDN, etc) -- to pay off higher-interest credit lines.

How bad are the high interest loans? Amounts, terms, interest rates etc.

 

[da8s0859q]

Without getting too much into it, it's more than statistically average for the typical person in my demographic, with various interest rates ranging from single digits to a few times that of federal student loans. Enough of an issue, at least to me, to make me want to do this.

 

[RangerBob]

I think as a PGY-1 you're still eligible for the Residency/Relocation loan. That might be your best bet as the terms allow you to defer for at least ~3-4 years of residency (most private loans won't offer you that). The rates aren't the best (maybe variable ~7%, fixed ~9%) but it sounds like they might be better than what you currently have. The loans require a credit check, but don't require school certification (the bank just mails you a check usually)

You can usually borrow up to $15,000. Technically you're only supposed to take out one of these loans, but I think you could borrow from two different companies.

I got my residency loan through Wells Fargo. But Sallie Mae and a few others (maybe Chase?) offer them as well.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

Without getting too much into it, it's more than statistically average for the typical person in my demographic, with various interest rates ranging from single digits to a few times that of federal student loans. Enough of an issue, at least to me, to make me want to do this.

Unfortunately, the details matter. For instance, if your rates were 6-8%, then you probably don't want to go with Prosper or Lending Club, but if they're 30%, then that might be a great option.

 

[da8s0859q]

(spam)

Six for six posts with a link to some random financial site as of right now.