to consolidate or not?

[lunallena]

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Hey guys:
i have 3 different lenders Access group, great lakes(t.h.e) , and dpt of education (due to sallie mae selling loans to them).
total owe about 157k including interest, i'm on my grace period right now. Having 3 different lenders is driving me nuts, but i realize that consolidating will raise my fixed rate from 6.8 to 6.875.
Is there any other advantage to consolidating now, versus keeping my loans separate, in terms of how much i end up paying at the end,. i am looking into the IBR option as well.
Thanks a lot guys

 

[mx_599]

Hey guys:
i have 3 different lenders Access group, great lakes(t.h.e) , and dpt of education (due to sallie mae selling loans to them).
total owe about 157k including interest, i'm on my grace period right now. Having 3 different lenders is driving me nuts, but i realize that consolidating will raise my fixed rate from 6.8 to 6.875.
Is there any other advantage to consolidating now, versus keeping my loans separate, in terms of how much i end up paying at the end,. i am looking into the IBR option as well.
Thanks a lot guys

i thought consolidation was over?

 

[blanche]

when i consolidated back in 06, there were benefits through my servicer (Sallie Mae MEDloans) that made it worth it (through interest rate reduction and loan credit) you'll have to see if there are any carrots that the company you'd consolidate with will dangle to get you to consolidate w/them

also, crunch the numbers on how much that 0.075% comes to over a 30 year (or however long...) loan term is.

i like this calculator
http://www.finaid.org/calculators/loanpayments.phtml

it looks like for a 30 year term, that would be less than $3000 extra you'd be paying on a total loan burden of $371,294.70. you would lessen that by paying it off faster.

 

[lunallena]

hey guys;
just finished making calls.

if i do the federal consolidation, even tough my interest rate will go up to 6.875%, i would be able to have all loans with 1 servicer. Also they offer a discount of 0.25% by enrolling in autopay regardless of which payment plan you have

Access Group and Dpt of Education also offer the 0.25% incentive, but i spoke to Great Lakes who services half of all my loan amount and they said that at this time they don't have any incentives to my loans.

So i've decided i am going to consolidate and perhaps do the income based repayment and take advantage of the 0.25% discount by autopay.

thank u all 🙂

 

[mx_599]

hey guys;
just finished making calls.

if i do the federal consolidation, even tough my interest rate will go up to 6.875%, i would be able to have all loans with 1 servicer. Also they offer a discount of 0.25% by enrolling in autopay regardless of which payment plan you have

Access Group and Dpt of Education also offer the 0.25% incentive, but i spoke to Great Lakes who services half of all my loan amount and they said that at this time they don't have any incentives to my loans.

So i've decided i am going to consolidate and perhaps do the income based repayment and take advantage of the 0.25% discount by autopay.

thank u all 🙂

when did consolidating start again?

 

[december07]

hey guys;
just finished making calls.

if i do the federal consolidation, even tough my interest rate will go up to 6.875%, i would be able to have all loans with 1 servicer. Also they offer a discount of 0.25% by enrolling in autopay regardless of which payment plan you have

Access Group and Dpt of Education also offer the 0.25% incentive, but i spoke to Great Lakes who services half of all my loan amount and they said that at this time they don't have any incentives to my loans.

So i've decided i am going to consolidate and perhaps do the income based repayment and take advantage of the 0.25% discount by autopay.

thank u all 🙂

If I consolidate today, do you know when the FIRST payment will be? Cause my first paycheck is mid july, and if I get hit with a payment between now and then, i'm dead 🙂

 

[mx_599]

If I consolidate today, do you know when the FIRST payment will be? Cause my first paycheck is mid july, and if I get hit with a payment between now and then, i'm dead 🙂

consolidation ended a couple years ago

 

[december07]

consolidation ended a couple years ago

Nah, we just had a lecture over this. Private consolidation ended a few years back, but you can now do Direct Consolidation, which is a governmental service. The benefits and incentives aren't the same, but it does make your life easier.

 

[blanche]

If I consolidate today, do you know when the FIRST payment will be? Cause my first paycheck is mid july, and if I get hit with a payment between now and then, i'm dead 🙂

you can consolidate and then forbear for a month or two (or all of residency) but my guess is you'll have at least a month until the next payment is due.

 

[lunallena]

they said that you can turn in the application for consolidation and write your grace period in there where it asks you .that way they will not finalize it until your grace period or forbearance is over so no risk of being forced to pay earlier. i plan to turn it in about 2-3 months prior to the end of my grace period.

 

[december07]

My problem is I do not know how this will work out with my grad Plus loan. Those do not have a grace period, unlike the sub and Unsub loans.

Also, quick question about the timing of the process. Does it matter if you do this before or after July 1st? with regards to the change in policy and all (about taking in consideration of spouse's debt as well)

Thanks! ready to pull the trigger anytime now....

 

[doctorFred]

My problem is I do not know how this will work out with my grad Plus loan. Those do not have a grace period, unlike the sub and Unsub loans.

Also, quick question about the timing of the process. Does it matter if you do this before or after July 1st? with regards to the change in policy and all (about taking in consideration of spouse's debt as well)

Thanks! ready to pull the trigger anytime now....

i'm in the process of consolidating all my grad plus loans. i don't have a spouse, so i'm not sure the answer to your question, but you should know the process takes 2-3 months to complete, so the sooner you begin, the better.

in terms of grace periods - all grad plus loans disbursed after july 1st, 2008 have an automatic 6 month grace period. plus loans disbursed before that simply have to be put into forbearance for a month or two (or less, if you start the process well before graduation.)

 

[december07]

i'm in the process of consolidating all my grad plus loans. i don't have a spouse, so i'm not sure the answer to your question, but you should know the process takes 2-3 months to complete, so the sooner you begin, the better.

in terms of grace periods - all grad plus loans disbursed after july 1st, 2008 have an automatic 6 month grace period. plus loans disbursed before that simply have to be put into forbearance for a month or two (or less, if you start the process well before graduation.)

Hey thanks! that's helpful. I didn't know the process takes 2-3 months. I was afraid that I do it this week and get a bill within the following week or so 🙂 I shoulda known better, it's a governmental program after all.