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I've entered the wonderful world of working for a loan servicing provider, so I'm available to help with questions. I'm curious though, what's the reputation for the various firms contracted to handle direct loans? I know that Sallie Mae had been pulling some poo poo lately, but I'd like to know what the other firms' reputations are like.
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Jun 22, 2011 01:09
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Ashcans posted:Maybe this is a stupid question, but I don't know where else to ask it. My wife and I are applying for IBR, but out situation has changed significantly since we filed our taxes. What should we put in for our income? Specifically, is it our gross income, our do we deduct contributions to FSA, 401K, Health Insurance? It makes a significant difference so we don't want to mess it up. Your AGI for your last tax return is the only thing that really matters, besides family size and gross income. Your situation may have changed since you last filed your taxes, but as long as your AGI from your last tax return, gross income, family size and external loan debt are still the same, you should have an accurate guess. However, it wouldn't hurt to call up your servicer's service department and doublecheck. Or even better, check out the website.
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Jun 24, 2011 17:43
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Ashcans posted:The problem is really that all of those have changed. The only AGI that matters currently is 2010's AGI in your gross income. If you've had a lot of changes, that will make a difference next year when you have to refile in 12 months, but for now, the 2010 AGI should be the only one that matters. Definitely let us know what happened though. (and who, because I'd love to know what the other groups are like) Any other loan advisors dealt with the joy of people trying to get mortgages? It's annoying because even if someone is in the post seperation date grace period and are getting their subsidized loans' interest paid, they still have to get a forbearance that will cost them more over the long term.
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Jun 25, 2011 01:56
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My wife and I have both changed jobs (and so gross income significantly) and we had a baby this spring. So I don't think last year's AGI is right, but I don't know what they include in income/pay. I'll try calling the servicer and see if they can tell me what they need.
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Gross income should come into play much more in your situation, aka what you're currently being paid. I don't know anything about Pell grants, they're too school specific for someone who deals strictly with servicing. However, get as many subsidized loans as you can. Subsidized loans will have their interest paid in any kind of deferment, aka while you're in school (in school deferment), your grace period (six months after the first date that you drop below half time status according to your school or after you graduate) or during any other deferment. Deferments include economic hardship (working more than 30 hours but making less than 150% of your poverty level based on family size) or unemployment (working less than 30 hours and actively seeking employment through a website or employment agency). Whenever you can, get subsidized loans and take advantage of deferments when you can. More deferments may apply that what I just listed, just check your servicer's website or if necessary call them. Anything is better than going into default. If you check the website or call, you'll most likely get something better than default, aka having to deal with not nice collectors. That's the end of my lecture.
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Jun 25, 2011 07:16
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blar posted:That's quite the ripoff if they are using your gross income instead of your AGI. Why don't you use your paychecks to estimate your AGI and give them that? I would argue that point since it may save you a lot of money month to month. The Alt doc form would allow the IBR to be based off of current income based on paychecks (though the process will be even more difficult if consolidated jointly, or if taxes are filed jointly) but I'd really go with whatever would be lower, either 1040 AGI, or the current paychecks. Eugene Jerome posted:Problemo: You almost certainly will, but it's not too much of a problem. Have them put your account into a temporary forbearance if you have the forb time, call them up to see where to send your signed and dated 1040 (or whatever other supporting documents you used) and send it in ASAP. If you've found out that you've already qualified, that's the biggest part of the battle. Now all you have to do is send in your info as soon as you can, and you'll be able to get it applied. And enjoy their call center, I've heard they're pretty terrible. Btw, I'm wondering about horror stories about financial aid staffers, if we can talk about it and not get in big trouble with the government. I spoke with someone who received more money from loans than they needed, and they were told by their schools financial aid office to either return the money or never use it, either way they wouldn't owe the money. It was very interesting to tell someone that they had thousands of dollars in their desk drawer to pay off their loans, all they needed to do was get the school to reauthorize the checks and they'd be able to pay thousands of dollars towards their debt. I felt pretty great about being able to tell someone that they had thousands of dollars they didn't know they actually had.
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Jul 10, 2011 20:13
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Wiggy Marie posted:Basically, loans are considered defaulted at 270 days past due, however they're \ If FFELP loans. If it's a FDLP loan, it's 365 days.
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Jul 11, 2011 01:24
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Wiggy Marie posted:Most people don't realize that they can pause their payments. You'd cry to see how many of our own borrowers are paid off by guarantors without ever having used a day of their forbearance/deferment time. Or that blame it all on not getting their statement, and expect us to go 'Oh, you didn't get your statement even though you signed a promissory note promising to make your payments on time no matter what? Totally our fault, you don't have to pay.' No. You either pay student loans on your own volition, or you let the government garnish your wages and take your tax returns. Those are your only two options, unless you are 100% will never, ever be able to work or die. On the other hand, if you just call us or go the website, I can virtually guarantee that we have some solution for you, whether it's a postponement of payments or a reduction of payment. It really is that easy.
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Jul 12, 2011 03:52
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Draconi Ann posted:If I have to take out loans for two years at community college and then transfer to a four year college for my remaining two years, will I be required make payments on those loans right away? If you are enrolled in an accredited school for at least halftime, it's federal regulation that you have to be put into an In School Deferment. Either your school will report your status automatically or you will have to make them fill out a sheet and send it in to your servicer, make sure to find out what you need to do for your school to be in an In School Deferment. In terms of time spent between attending, make sure you do not spend six months or more out of school. You only get one 6 month grace period and by the time you've used it, you can't get it back. If you spend 5 months on it and are enrolled in school before 6 months is up, you'll get it back. Just don't use it all up, because you're going to want that grace period.
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Jul 30, 2011 19:03
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Edit: nevermind, the question got answered answered.
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Aug 1, 2011 05:19
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Starkk posted:I'm going to call them up in the morning and ask which one I should use, I'll let you guys know what they say. Definitely report back, I can see myself getting asked this question and I'd like to know the answer. (Btw Wiggy, I've been reading though the old pages of this thread and have been learning a lot to be able to take back to my job, so thanks for all of your info!)
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Aug 2, 2011 01:50
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Wiggy Marie posted:No problem at all, and thank YOU for your help! Your knowledge is WAY more up to date than mine, so take some of the regulation-related stuff with a grain of salt. If you see anything in the OP that needs to be updated, let me know and I'll get it fixed. Why thank you! It's a little intimidating posting in a thread you're so established in, but I feel like answering questions and seeing what's being asked in this thread will help me advise people about their loans. It's kind of terrifying doing the job and being wrong.  I would suggest going over what the process is for in school deferment though, that seems like one of my biggest questions being asked recently at work. Namely that if your school is in clearinghouse, they will report you as being in school, and that if they aren't, you'll need to send in an in school deferment. Also, should the types of deferments get put onto the OP page? I'd be willing to write up a basic version of what deferments there are, and what you need to qualify for them.
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Aug 2, 2011 04:00
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ashgromnies posted:I graduated with $50,000 in loans from Sallie Mae. I've seen worse, you'll be fine. Just avoid that call center whenever possible, because I hear horror stories. Your choices are a standard plan, an extended plan and a graduated plan, if you intend on paying off your loan. If not and you make little enough, go onto the income based repayment plan, which will give you $0 payments for 12 months if your income is low enough or if you're receiving federal or state aid, though your loan will be stretched out to 25 years and you may or may not get your loan forgiven then. The 10 year standard is the best option for paying off your loan. It's a set monthly payment for ten years or 120 payments and while the highest of your repayment options, you will get your loan paid off the fastest and with the least amount of your payment going towards interest. The extended standard plan is similar, but stretched out to 25 years. You end up paying almost as much in interest as you do in principal, but sometimes it's the only option, though even the terrible extended plan is worse than... The graduated plan rises in payment amount by 30% every two years. It starts off with low, almost interest level payments, and then raises till you're paying a ton in 8 years. You will pay a lot of interest and you won't feel like you're making headway for about 6 years. However, if you're starting out at entry level and will be making more in a few years, this could be your only option. But for the love of god, whenever you can, make extra payments. The extended graduated plan is like the graduated, only spread out to 25 years. Income Sensitive and Income Contingent might sound like good ideas at first. They're based off of your gross income, and can be a hell of a lot lower. But the problem with them is that they count against your loan term. In other words, if you pay less than the amount of interest accruing a day, you will not only end up owing more, but you will not only have to pay more, but also have to do it in a shorter amount of time meaning that your payments go up. I've seen people go on ISR for a year and pay a small amount, but then find their 'high' $350 payments become 'impossible' $500 payments. Avoid them. Reduced Payment Forbearance is a much better option. With RPFs, you pay an interest only payment, or if you want, you can pay an interest only payment plus whatever you want to go to principal. And unlike ISR/ICR, it doesn't count against your loan term so your monthly payment will be the same next year. Your loan adviser can also do it over the phone with you, and it's the only repayment plan that can be processed in a day, the others take at least 30 days to process. The Income Based Repayment plan is a pain. Your Average Gross Income has to be less than %150 of the poverty level for how many dependents you have, or you or your spouse are only receiving an income from federal or state aid (SSI, Disability, WIC) or other sources (child support, alimony. If your AGI is low enough, or if you're on federal aid, you get $0 payments, as long as you send in supporting documents and fill out what you need to fill out. You qualify for it every year, but after 25 years, apparently the government will forgive your loan. But this is a big risk, because the government may not forgive those loans with a. how broke we are and b. this is a new program. Keep in mind that it is always better to pay something than fall delinquent, unless you can get a postponement of payments. (Wow, I ended up doing a big post about repayment plans, I'll do deferments tomorrow at work, but Wiggy, think this would be good for the OP?) Effexxor fucked around with this message at 04:28 on Aug 3, 2011 |
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Aug 3, 2011 04:20
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IdeoPhanthus posted:So when it comes down to it, IBR is the worst option? Any repayment or postponement option that helps you to not be delinquent is a good option. But no, actually ISR or ICR are the worst options and I try and steer them away from those whenever freaking possible. IBR isn't a bad option for the first 3 years because the government pays the subsidized interest for that long, but I do try and steer people away from it unless they will never be able to make enough money to repay their loan because frankly, I don't trust the government to forgive the loan after 25 years, not with our economy. It's a much safer bet to pay off your loan than wait for the government to forgive your loan. IdeoPhanthus posted:My husband and I are looking into moving from upstate NY down to NC. There are no jobs up here. We had a "regular" job 2yrs (had it for 2yr up to that point) ago with under the table pay; during that time I kept my credit card balance at/near $0, and paid extra on my loan whenever possible. When we lost our jobs there, it took 1yr for him to find a new job (I struggled to find anything, especially since I had to shuttle him to/from work). In June he lost that job, and jobs are still very scarce around here. He does IT work on the side, and includes that in our tax filing. Anyway, economy seems better down there than up here, and there are actually alot of companies relating to our fields. Income Based repayment plan wouldn't be too bad for you, as long as you don't stay on it for too long. There's an option in the IBR Alternative Documentation form that specifically asks how much income you've made since Jan. 1 2011 that would qualify you for it. That being said, there are a lot of other options. You're unemployed, so you can file for an unemployment deferment, during which the government will pay the interest on your subsidized loans. As long as you are actively seeking full time work in a variety of fields (or say that you are) you can get a deferment for 6 months at a time, up to three years. Also, if you make payments will in an unemployment deferment, you will have less interest accrued so more will go to the principal. Forbearances are not necessarily a bad thing, and in fact, they can be godsends. Depending on whether you have FDLP or FFELP, you either have 36 or 60 months of forbearance, respectively. I do forbearances all the time at work, if you're in a forbearance your account is current and if you pay the interest 30 days before the forbearance is due to end, it doesn't get added onto your principal. There is no shame in a forbearance at all. Effexxor fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 01:59
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Eugene Jerome posted:I had my Stafford loans bought out by Sallie Mae. I called about a month ago asking about when my payments would be due, and they said I would be getting a "Welcome" letter. A month later, nothing. Sallie Mae outsources to India, which is a beyond terrible idea because you need to know a lot of different ways to explain student loans and frankly, they just don't have the language skills for it. Check NSLDS on it's status, and try emailing them, that be answered by someone who can actually explain it. Till then, wouldn't be a bad idea to send a copy of your birth certificate or driver's license to their correspondence office to get it changed on your account. Edit: Also I have never heard of a permanent hold on a loan, except for something like bankruptcy, and even then you can still give the person their loan information. When my servicer gets loans, we have pretty much instant access to the pertinent info like next payment due and payment amount. Also, Wiggy, you may want to edit the OP about the consolidation part, the only entity allowed to consolidate loans right now is DirectLoans, i.e. the department of education. Effexxor fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 02:00
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Eugene Jerome posted:The NSLDS website says all my Stafford Loans are still serviced by Citibank, even though if I go to Citibank's payment site they inform me that Sallie Mae is now servicing my Stafford loans, and that they are no longer accepting payments for Stafford loans. Yikes, if you were with anyone besides Sallie Mae this would be so much easier. My only other option is for you to log a complaint with the department of education ombudsman and tell them that they won't give you your payment date, they won't give you access to basic information on your loan, and ask if they can find out what's going on.
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Aug 5, 2011 15:59
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NJ Deac posted:Is there any disadvantage to taking one of the longer term payment options (e.g., extended/graduated), but to pay more money sooner, as if you were on one of the shorter plans? Seems like if all else is equal, I might as well choose the option with the lowest minimum payment, even if I intend to aggressively pay down the debt. Any reason not to do so, other than the psychological effect of having a higher mandatory minimum forcing me to pay it off sooner? Nope, no disadvantage. Just don't get complacent and just pay the minimum if you don't want to pay a metric fuckton of interest!
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Aug 5, 2011 19:40
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TraderStav posted:With rates plummeting as far as they are, are there any companies that will issue a loan that can be used to pay off your federal student loan? I have about 40k in consolidated loans at 5.625 (roughly 4.50% after-tax benefit I figure) and have to believe I can get a 10 year loan for less than that. Perhaps I'm just channeling my rage about the fact you cannot consolidate your federal loans into anything but the weighted average of interest rates of the loan, but does anyone know of any reputable companies that do this? TraderStav posted:Aside from the interest rate deduction, what awesome benefits do I get in repayment? Also excluding the fact that if I declare bankruptcy, I am not able to discharge the debt. (awesome feature right there You might be able to find someone who'd be willing to do this, who knows. But know that while it's a pain to have a high interest rate, there are a lot of benefits to student loans, and the biggest is that they are flexible when it comes down to postponement. Federal student loans are highly regulated, and a part of thar regulation is that the servicers have be very flexible with whether you are, or aren't, able to pay. You can get a deferment if you go back to school, fall on hard times or become unemployed with a federal student loan and get the interest on your subsidized loans paid for, which you are not guaranteed with a private loan. Seyelence posted:Any dangers of Wells Fargo that I should look our for? Check out the above reply to how I feel about private loans. Seyelence posted:Also how is this debt crap with the nation going to effect student loans? Am I going to take them out then next year have a 20% interest rate? Students loans with variable rates are different than the usual marketplace. They only change on July first every year, and they haven't been shifting much lately except going down to the incredible 2.36%. Variable loans nowadays are great, but the federally subsidized loans with those are no longer available. However, private loans do not have the same flexibility or regulation as the government loans.
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Aug 10, 2011 04:01
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Poke posted:I hope this hasn't been asked too many times. I'm currently attending a community college and started this past summer. I didn't qualify for a Pell Grant so I had to go the student loan route. I got approved and got a good amount that covered the tuition and books for the summer. Now the fall has arrived and I see the loan amount doesn't cover the tuition at all. The sad news is that the school doens't certify private bank loans either. Are there any places that doesn't require school certification to receive a student loan? I just want to borrow the difference left after they take out the federal student loan. Thanks. Are Parent Plus loans an option?
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Aug 12, 2011 20:27
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You can always pay extra on student loans, always specify to which loans money will go to, always receive the incentives you are entitled to should you qualify and change payment plans. It's one of the many joys of federal student loans. You should be fine, just avoid their call center and become familiar with the website.
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Aug 16, 2011 05:04
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baquerd posted:One way people with both unsubsidized and subsidized loans can take advantage of this is by starting to pay off the unsubsidized interest and principal before the subsidized grace period ends. Personally, I started out with both types before finding a job that made me able to drop the unsubsidized ones. I paid off the unsubsidized before much interest accrued and that made the overall loan was interest free until the grace period ended. In order to do this, I had to call them up and request it, but it saved me many hundreds if not thousands of dollars in interest in the long term. YES YES YES, this is the absolute best way to pay off your student loan. You have the government already paying off your subsidized interest, why not use that time to pay if you can? You don't necessarily need to call up, most servicers have a system to allow you to make 'special payments' on their website and if not, you can specify that you want payments to go to your unsubsidized loans in a note along with your check and they'll be applied to whichever loans you want them to go to.
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Aug 16, 2011 21:42
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Kneel Before Zog posted:So apparently your school gets to decide what kind of loan you are eligible for. I received the Stafford loan, unsubsidized. I believe the rate is 6.8 percent and I know it starts accumulating immediately when I take it. I think I receive a discount on the interest if I set up automatic payments, but I can't start paying until I find a job. My question is if its possible to tell my school to consider me for a subsidized student loan,because of my new financial situation in which im cut off from Daddys pay check. Has anyone tried to do this before? Never heard of it before, but it's worth a shot. That being said, while it isn't as handy to have a subsidized loan, it's not the end of the world because you can still get your loan paid off with the least amount of interest paid as possible. Make interest only payments whenever you can and pay off the interest possible while in school, and if you can make payments on your loan with the first 120 days all of it will go to principal, since it takes 120 days for interest to start accruing. Eugene Jerome, please, please make an email of your complaint and send it to the Department of Education. Sallie Mae gets far better reviews for customer service than they deserve, and while my company isn't the best, they're far worse.
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Aug 18, 2011 01:56
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Kneel Before Zog You can ALWAYS make payments on your student loan. The 6 month grace period is just a deferment after you drop below half time/graduate. If you set up an auto debit with your servicer, the interest rate reduction should begin after the first successful pull from your bank account. And your student loan money, once disbursed, can go to anything you want, however remember that it is a loan, and you will have to pay it back. bowmore Generally late fees don't start to accure on an account till 15 days delinquent, and while the servicers have the right to report to the credit bureau after 30 days, they generally wait until 90 days to report. One payment that is 2-3 days late won't even be a blip on her credit score.
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Aug 18, 2011 14:31
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Wiggy Marie posted:Good lord that website is way way misleading. I recommending sticking with https://www.finaid.org from now on. Unsub loans are 6.8% for everyone, everywhere, across the board and regardless of grade level. The rates CAN drop annually - should the government decide to lower them - but the rates of that year are fixed on that loan for life now. Right now the subsidized loans are the ones that are decreasing annually for the next few years, and then will increase again. It's bizarre. Yeah, I generally tell people to trust sites that end with ed.gov for accurate student loan information.
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Aug 19, 2011 04:32
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Made a knock off of the e/n page for the OP. How to pay your loan off like a champ 1. Pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first. Even if it's only higher by 1 percent, it'll make a big difference. You can't let the other loans go delinquent of course, but your extra money should go towards paying off the loan with the most interest. 2. Pay off your unsubsidized loans before your subsidized loans. During a deferment, the government pays the interest on your subsidized loans, but your unsubsidized loans are always accruing interest. If you can get your unsub loans paid off, then you can defer with peace of mind that you don't have any interest accruing. (And then, any payments that you make during a deferment will go straight to principal since there's no interest!) 3. Make as many payments as possible during the first 120 days after your loan is disbursed. This is the only time that your unsubsidized loan won't be accruing interest, and whatever payments you are able to make will go to paying down your principal directly. 4. Don't want to pay so much interest? Pay down your principal as often and as much as possible. When your loan servicer receives your payment, they will first pay off any fees, then pay off the accrued interest, and then what is left will go to your principal. Every day interest is accrued based off of how much your principal is. If you're able to lower your principal twice a month, the amount you pay in interest will be lower with each principal reduction. 5. Avoid forbearances when you can. Forbearances are good when used sparingly, but if you slap them on one after you're only hurting yourself. Interest still accrues during a forbearance, and if you don't pay off that interest, it will be added onto your principal balance and what you pay in interest will rise. Of course, if your choice is either default or go into a forb, for the love of god, do the forbearance. 6. Consider a Reduced Payment Forbearance if you're struggling but still don't want your loan to accrue interest. In a reduced payment forbearance you are only required to pay the amount of interest that has accrued over a month. You can always pay more if you want, but a reduced payment forbearance is still a really good option. 7. Pay more every month. Even 20 extra dollars a month can save you potentially thousands. Round up, pay a little bit more, whatever you do will help you to pay less in interest over the life of your loan. 8. Be proactive. I know that it's kind of annoying to have to call in to a call center or to try and wade through a website, but if you're having problems making payments, let your servicer know and see what options you have. You are in control of your repayment of your loans, and if you throw out statements without looking at them or avoid checking your balance, it's going to be your own fault if you get behind. Follow these steps and you'll get that loan paid off with the least amount of interest paid possible, and with a credit score that is awesome. Effexxor fucked around with this message at 03:09 on Aug 20, 2011 |
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Aug 20, 2011 02:59
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IdeoPhanthus posted:I'm going to apply for a temporary hardship forbearance. How do I know how much interest got racked up during it? I went on a temporary forbearance for about a 6mo period years ago, and couldn't find info anywhere on the interest that accrued during that time. I feel like I'm going to be paying on this until I die, considering I've been paying on the loan since '07 (did a deferment from '06-'07) and only paid $622 off the principal (and $1330 in interest). To be honest, the easiest way to figure out how much interest would accure would be to call your servicer, I know it's really easy for me to be able to tell people. As for paying it off, how many of the 'How to pay off your loan like a champ' steps have you done? As for the interest, it accrues daily. That $66 is probably the interest that has accrued since your last payment. FISHMANPET posted:What I remember right before my six month in school deferment ended is they sent me a letter that said I had $500 in interest exclusively on the principal (they weren't charging interest on the accrued interest), and if I paid it before the 6 months were up it wouldn't capitalize, and if I didn't pay it, not only would it capitalize, but they would add back interest charged on the earned interest, so that when I didn't pay, my total balance was $1000 more than I'd borrowed, rather than only $500. Okay, here's a a hypothetical situation that might explain this. Say you have a $100 loan with a 1% interest rate. A dollar a day accrues in interest. Let's say you do a forbearance for 20 days. $20 is added to the original $100, so now your principal balance is $120. Interest the next day will be $1.20, which is 1% of your principal balance. That's how capitalization works, roughly. Also, I know with our auto debit program that's definitely something you can do, so I check around the website for an alternative payment amount. mastershakeman posted:I'm honestly not sure why I didn't do this before, thanks. Problem is half my loans just go moved from Citi to Sallie, so I'm going to have to deal with both of them to find out what exactly I can do with these loans to set them to longer repayment plans in order to speed up payments on my higher interest ones. I don't see why you don't just stick with the schedule you have and pay more to the higher interest rates, honestly.
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Aug 23, 2011 20:04
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Zertuk posted:I know that if I fall below part time status my current federal loans will enter their grace period of 6 months. If I still have a class and am under part time will I be able to receive any new federal loans for this semester? Your school will report when you drop below half time so it won't help you to get a deferment. As for actually getting the money, it's worth a shot. burritonegro posted:If I have enough in my Savings to pay in full one but not all of my student loans, should I do it? I'd kill off one of those 6.8% loans and keep the rest in savings. Good job having only subsidized loans by the way, if you ever go into a deferment you'll be thanking your lucky stars you only have those. Edit: Also, always fully pay off a loan when you can. If you can stop the interest accruing, it's always a good thing. Just remember to take out the ones with the highest interest first.
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Aug 29, 2011 21:08
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thepedestrian posted:I heard through a not terribly reliable source that the debt ceiling bill ended subsidized student loans and even subsidized loans taken out before the bill passed will start accruing interest at some time next year. I'm in grad school for a minimum of 18 more months (though on fellowship now, no longer need loans) and I have one subsidized loan left. Am I going to have to start making payments while I'm still in school and broke? No. In any case, when you signed the contract aka master promissary note, you agree to those terms for those loans. Nothing will change that agreement you made with the federal government. Also, if that was true, you can believe I would have known about it and told everyone. You'll be fine.
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Aug 31, 2011 04:46
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baquerd posted:Here's a question - suppose your federal student loan repayment period will begin in January 2012 - will you still get the incentives after a year of on-time payments? There really aren't any incentives, unless you're military or signing up for auto debit, for student loans disbursed now.
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Sep 1, 2011 05:14
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baquerd posted:That's astonishingly lovely for them to change the existing loan terms under thousands of students. They aren't changing anthing for people who had incentives besides the ones I talked about earlier when they signed their promissary note. Ever since the Department of Education became the only one able to originate loans, they haven't had any incentives besides those very basic ones. When companies were allowed to originate, with money backed by the Department of Education anyway, they had the nice incentives, and people with those loans still get their incentives. They haven't taken any incentives away from anyone who had them when they signed their promissory note. Also, thanks to whichever goon posted the screenshot showing what the options were for each loan type for consolidation, I actually logged on and check this thread to find what the borrower needed.
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Sep 2, 2011 21:52
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IdeoPhanthus posted:I consolidated back in '06 as soon as my 6mo grace period was up. So currently my loan is a subsidized consolidation loan. So no multiple loans to worry about paying off certain ones first. I made no payments during the grace period since I was jobless. I tried making a couple principal-only payments, but they seemed to ignore my request; maybe I'm doing it wrong, because I tried to do the same thing on a car loan in the past and it didn't work. I've had to do a short forbearanc in the past, since it didn't seem I was eligible for a deferment, but I had no money to pay so it had to be done. I try to always pay more using whatever's left in my account after other bills. Sometimes it's only a couple bucks, and other times it's more like $20. Though some months I put the extra toward the credit card bill. Have you done the alternative documentation form for the Income Based Repayment plan? If you're making little to no income for this past year, you'd absolutely qualify for $0 payments.
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Sep 7, 2011 19:11
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Kneel Before Zog posted:I don't think I have deferment. My loan is unsubsidized stafford loan which means I take interest immediately. What's really annoying is I honestly only requested 3250. Say they up'ed my loan limit. I asked them why. They said because of my grades if I read the email right. They being my in state florida university. The thing is they not only raised the amount I can take out but had me take out more. Now I've taken out 3700 hundred instead of 3250 and I can swear I never changed the amount I had written in originally. Okay. Let's take this one step at a time, because frankly this post is really hard to read. 1. Your school gave you too much money. Either you will have to pay that back, or your school will return the $450 to the school, which they do all the time. However, if your school said you need 3700, you probably need 3700. If you don't, they'll either send the money back to the servicer or to you. I'd talk to your financial aid officer whenever possible to clear this up. 2. Repaying your loan. Yes, make payments to your loan while in repayment. The interest that accrues daily is all based off of your principal balance, and if you can get that principal balance down while you're in deferment, it's a benefit. And yes, if you pay it off within 120 days, there will be no interest.
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Sep 20, 2011 03:32
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Konstantin posted:Are they private or federal? It is very worth it to repay private student loans ASAP, but for federal student loans I think you can wait until you build up some solid savings before paying them down. You will end up paying more interest, but I think that is worth it with Federal loans since a combination of savings and IBR will help immensely if you have trouble finding employment. With private student loans, you are horribly hosed if you can't pay them, so it is best to get them off your back right away if you can. Part of this is correct, it is important to kill of private loans as much as possible because they will kill you if you don't pay them down in a timely manner. And even though I realize that 'Business, Finance and Careers' is very gung ho on savings, if you have to go onto IBR, there's a problem. Deferments are a far better option for something that is generally a short term problem, rather than to do IBR which is a long term solution and is something with so many loopholes that you can screw yourself over unless you are really that poor or badly off. Paying your loans down as much as possible in an in school deferment is going to save you a LOT of interest. I'd say it's very much worth it to put more into paying down your loan, as long as you have some money in savings. But then again, I'm posting in this thread on how to help people pay off their student loans in the best, most cost effective manner, I'm not looking at outside budgeting. Keep this in mind. Edit: Sorry, but I'm going to do a little bit of a rant here. It drives me nuts sometimes when every student coming out of college is wanting to get onto IBR. This is your loan, with money that you borrowed from the government. You have to pay it back. And yes, if you've exhausted your deferment options and there is no other option, get on the IBR plan instead of defaulting, please. But what I see too much and worry about are people who see that they can get the IBR plan and see $0 payments for the first few years that they're poor and just out of college and decide to borrow way more than they can afford. Student loans are like any other debt, you should only take out as much as you can afford to pay back. Kneel Before Zog posted:When I start repaying my loan will my payment go towards my uni or towards Stafford? If my loan is strictly between Stafford and myself and Stafford and if theres a chance for for some reason wasn't updated with this 450 dollar change from the original amount on my promissory note, I now owe the school the extra 450 dollars? Okay, I want to answer you. But I really don't understand you. Stafford is not a person, stafford is a type of federally subsidized loans. You need to talk to your school. Effexxor fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Sep 20, 2011 |
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Sep 20, 2011 22:17
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Lee Harvey Oswald posted:I have another question about the 10 year public services loan forgiveness. If I work in a private college library or city hospital library, would I still be eligible for the 10 year forgiveness? Also, they have to be either direct loans (Direct Stafford Subsidized) or be consolidated through Direct Loans' consolidation department (Their number is 1-800-557-7392 and eerily enough I now know that number by heart) so that your loans are Direct.
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Oct 3, 2011 00:47
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Medikit posted:One more thing, you have to choose income based repayment. Well, you don't have to, but if you want the forgiveness to actually be worth something, then yes.
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Oct 3, 2011 19:45
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Reverend Cheddar posted:Thought I'd post my two cents on the way I eventually solved my tuition deficit, that some people might want to do in lieu of student loans. If you can go this route, great. If you can skip a payment if you need to by having a relative bail you out, it's always better than having a loan that will accrue insane interest. That being said, I wouldn't really suggest going through outside banks unless your loan is small enough that you can easily afford paying out in 10 years or/and if you are sure you can find a way to make all of your payments. If you don't fit into that, it'll be a better idea to stick with the loans that are going to give you the most in terms of postponement.
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Oct 10, 2011 06:03
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(I'll finally have independent status next year, so as long as I stay poor and meet Pell Grant requirements, my school will foot the bill. Go Huskies. me finally making independent status was a big reason why my father agreed to the deal in the first place.)
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Guy Axlerod posted:Is there a best time to call? 2 est on a Thursday, at least for us, because almost everyone no matter what shift they work is on the phones.
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Oct 13, 2011 00:09
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Mary loving Poppins posted:I have a payment due today and somehow my bank account for my automatic monthly payments was removed and the system wouldn't let me re-enter it last night. And now the website is down and their phone lines are not accepting calls. Does anybody have an email account I can report my issue to? There isn't one listed on the website, but I want to have my issue recorded so that I don't get penalized for a late payment. If they're anything like us, they're probably going to be very busy for a very long time. If you're that worried you can always send in a payment by check just in case, but generally you get a window of 15 days to make a payment without late fees or calls, so I'd wait till they're not getting swarmed with people who are upset about the website. cnmns posted:I'm in a bind and I need help. My payment is due on the 21st ($1035.35) and I can't afford it. I make about $775 every 2 weeks after taxes and I have other bills and rent to pay. I don't know what payment plan would work for me and I don't know if consolidation is right for me as well. I feel like I've screwed myself in a corner. I don't know where to begin, or what information you need, but can you help? Do the Income Based Repayment plan. For the first 3 years the government will pay the interest like it's a deferment and if you have $0 payments, you can pay whatever you want. The IBR is always better than being late or being in a forbearance, if you need to do it, just sign up for it. Mr Tweeze posted:So my girlfriends been out of school for about a year and a half now, before deciding on a degree in nursing she had switched schools like 3 times. She's been paying on her loans through AES since graduating but today got a call from a debt collection agency regarding a Perkins loan she had at the first school like 5-6 years ago. She had NEVER recieved any information about repaying this loan, no letters, no calls, before getting the call from the collection agency. When she asked the collections agency I think they were sending everything to the wrong address. So is she going to be screwed because of this and have to pay all the back interest or is this the school's fault for not getting her the information? She's going in to talk to the school tomorrow but she's pretty livid right now. Sorry to tell you this, but on most loan promissary notes you have to agree to keep your lender informed on any address and phone changes. You even agree that will you pay the loan when it is due, regardless of whether you've received statements. The school most likely hird a SKIP tracer to try and find her and they probably did send several letters and calls to where they thought that she lived, because if not they can get slammed by the federal government for not doing due dilligence. It's not the school's fault, it's probably hers. I'd also highly suggest her going int to talk to the school because I have heard of schemes where a collection agency calls, says that they have your Perkin's loans and set up a payment plan, all without any of your money going to the school. In other words, if any collection agency calls you about your loan, make sure they actually have it.
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Oct 13, 2011 22:33
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Electric Crayon posted:How long does it take to get accepted into the IBR program anyway? I submitted an application with paystub and tax info at the end of August, got a reply from Direct Loans stating my payments under IBR would be $0 (weird) in the middle of September, and yet the website states that I have a bill for $1,000 due at the end of the month. What gives? Yeah, they can do an administrative forbearance to bring your account current until the IBR is applied. The $0 payments mean that you are under the poverty so you'll still get statements, they'll just say that you owe $0. Also, with $0 payments, you can pay whatever you want so definitely put something towards your loans.
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Oct 17, 2011 21:05
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Zantie posted:Just a head's up for anyone with a loan or has had a loan with Nelnet, their Kwikpay system went haywire and billed everyone who's ever been set up with them a monthly payment. To give you all an idea of how huge this is, my only loan with them was paid in full over a year ago. Still, it does remind me to delete bank info for the other loan companies I've paid off. I've heard about this. Apparently they'll be sending out refunds today. FISHMANPET posted:My fiancée has a bunch of loans with direct loans. She finished her masters in the spring, and is currently getting a PhD. She just got a letter today that her loans are going into repayment starting the end of November. She called, and she has to fill out a form and the school has to fill it out, but the form could take a month to process, but she's only got 45 days. If she's in school at least half time there is nothing to worry about. Negative credit reporting, late fees, even default can be reversed if the student was in school at least half time. She'll be fine. teknicolor posted:Oh man I saw this today and freaked out. My loans went into deferment last month since I'm back in school, and now that I'm unemployed its even more important that I DON'T make any unnecessary payments. The rep I chatted with online said there was no way to reverse the charge though. I will try calling my bank to dispute the charge, and report back with my results, thanks a lot for the heads up! Apparently it's only happening for people who's loans were paid if full by the borrower or by consolidation. If you don't have any loans that aren't paid in full, you don't have to worry about it. The Agent posted:Just got on the new federal loans website, and on some of my loans under the benefits there are things listed which I have no idea what they mean. Their descriptions say: The first is a principal reduction that you'll get then your loans are sent to their servicer and the second is for troops that are in combat duty, they get all of their interest paid by the government when deployed.
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Oct 19, 2011 19:00
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FISHMANPET posted:What does she have to do to make sure it gets reverse, if it comes to that? The women she got on the phone was kind of a bitch, and basically ended up yelling at my fiancee for not knowing how to fill out this form. A sane customer representative will know how to deal. For the credit dispute she'd just have to send her credit report and a letter and enrollment verification form showing that she was in school at the time, she just has to request that the late fees be removed if there are any but generally that happens automatically and as for capitalization, it will be reversed if it does capitalized and if it doesn't, she can request it and they will need to do it. Also, have her check with her school to see if they are registered with the National Student Clearinghouse. If they are, she doesn't have to do a thing because they will report automatically. If not, she just has to have the school send an Enrollment Verification form to the servicer's enrollment processing office. Sorry to hear that she had such a bad experience, in the future if someone gets bitchy with her, she can remind them that it is federal law that, if someone is in school at least half time, they are entitled to an in school deferment.
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Oct 19, 2011 21:51
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