Loan Consolidation Care

I have owned my home for 5 years, refinanced for debt consolidation twice, the last time being in 2005. I technically have an ARM loan that was supposed to adjust over a year ago but due to the failing economy the automatically made my ARM extended with no adjustments until 2014. I am struggling to pay all my bills, however I have not gotten behind on my mortgage payments whatsoever. My DTI is very high and my husband filed bankrupsty on his credit card debt after he lost his job a couple of years ago and went unemployed with no unemployement pay for 6 months. He tried continously to find work and was damn lucky to get the job he has now. In the mean time I had to take a pay cut and a HUGE cost of health insurance increase. Between the two of us we were doing much better financially 5 years ago than we are now even though we planned 5 years ago to have our annual income be double what it actually is thanks to our poor economy. ANYWAY, because of all of this he has crappy credit, I have very high DTI ratio due to student loans and my home is not worth the $97,000 we owe on it, I would imagine it would be worth more around $80-85k. What is this new program? My mortgage company said it is coming soon and I read over the documents they provided me with but it seems like a lot of jargon. My mortgage is through Wells Fargo. Is what I am hoping for is for them to refi me at a lower monthly payment OR at the very least just make my ARM fixed for minimum 15 more years. What do you think my options are going to be?

One reason I don't think you would qualify is because you have to owe between 80% to 105% of your home's value. You owe more than that, sounds like. Read some of the facts sheets here, http://www.financialstability.gov/
I worked with Wells Fargo too. They are clueless about what this program is. All the counseling numbers I called, they are cluesless too. But if you call your state's HUD numbers from the MHA website, they may tell you your best options. I learned a lot from a few phone calls.
I think you can and should refinance with a lower fixed interest rate. And they are low for everyone now. Record lows. You will have to pay about $400 for a refinance application. Then the closing costs and everything, if you wish, could be added to your mortgage amount. That could be up to $2000. Sounds like a lot, but with a lower rate, you'd be better off.
If Wells Fargo says they can't help you, go to your local bank and ask to have a sit down with someone about refinancing. They might help, or at least give you free advice.
Good luck.

I graduate December 2010. So in 1 1/2 years. I'm praying & hoping that things get better, so my student loan repayment options are better.

I will have $30k in federal & another $30k in private loans. I checked my credit & all accounts are in good standing (not sure of my score). I have a great co-signer (750 credit score & $90k income). This has helped me fall in the middle category in interest rates of private loans.

I want to be able to consolidate my loans after graduation. Still a while away, but better to plan right? I'm consolidating them separately. I was wondering for the private student loan consolidation, with my co-signer, would it be hard to get qualified? Anyone have experiences they want to share? Right now I think only Wells Fargo & Chase are offering private student loan consolidations. Let me know please I hope more banks will be able to offer this program again as time goes on.

ylh:

I'm not going to comment specifically on your chances of being approved for a consolidation loan. If your credit is generally good, and your cosigner offers the security that the lenders are looking for, you certainly have a reasonable chance of being approved - but - as I'm sure you know, the lending market is REALLY REALLY tight right now, and many applicants with good credit are being turned away.

What I did want to comment on is the consolidation process in general. I just want to make certain that you recognize that loan consolidation has a "dirty little secret" - and that's all the extra money that you'll wind up repaying on your loan.

There is only one technique that consolidation loans can use to lower your monthly payments - and that technique is s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g your repayment term. You don't know have to know much about loans to understand what that means - the longer you stretch your repayment, the more interest you pay on your loan.

For the sake of argument, let's assume that you are hoping to consolidate $30,000 of private loans that will enter a 10-year repayment at 8.9% interest. Right now, you would be looking at 120 payments of $378.41 a month.

Consolidate that $30,000 into a 20-year loan at the same interest rate, and your payment drops to $267.99 a month - a savings of $110.42 a month. I'm sure you could put that extra $110 to good use.

But here's the catch - over 10 years, your total payments will be - $45,408.36. How's that compare to 20 years, where your total payments will be $64,318.53?

What's the privilege of cutting your monthly payment by $110 going to cost you? $19,000.

Wow - that's the list price on a Honda Civic, a Mini or a Pontiac G5.

Make that same deal on your government loans, and you're looking at another $15,000 in extra interest. That's quite a lot to pay.

Before you consider consolidation, take a look at your lender's other options, including Income Contingent Repayment, extended repayment, graduated repayment, and the brand new Income-Based Repayment. Do the math, and see which of these might make the most sense for you.

Don't be in a hurry to consolidate - that's just one of several options available to you, and it will prove to be a very costly one.

Good luck to you - graduation's not far away!

I am look for lenders who will consolidate my PRIVATE student loans. I have bad credit and desperately need to remove my original co-signer of my old student loans. I have tried everything from credit unions to on-line debt solutions but no one has helped. Please help me!

Hello. A few years ago there were a lot of companies that consolidated private student loans…but now because of the economy, hardly anyone does. I know that Wells Fargo is still doing it but it is credit based. I'm sorry that I don't have better news but the only way to refinance or consolidate private students is if you have better than average credit, or you have a cosigner that does. Hopefully as the economy improves, more companies will get back into it, but they will always be based on your credit.

Do banks offer special programs that help you to consolidate cc debt with your home equity. i have asked for "debt consolidation" loans in the past and have been denied due to too much debt already. i would like to refinance my home but i am scarred that i will be turned down due to the fact that i already have to much debt. My credit score is around 680. i dont care if i personally ever see the money i receive from my equity, i just want my cc bills paid off!

Once you get your fico score up to about 735 you should have no problem get home equity. To improve score, stop charging and pay down credit cards. It is hard (but use every resource you can - bonuses work, tax returns etc)

I consolidated my loans a few years a go. Went back to school and got new loans. Can I consolidate my new loans with my old consolidated loans together??

No, you can only consolidate once. Which is why it is not a good idea to consolidate if you are not finished with your schooling or have any inkling of going back.

i have a friend that has started a business, and if i put in capital i can make a great profit.

i have decent credit, and i was told by wells fargo that i can refinance my auto loan and pull cash out of it. it sounds tricky and i can't get much information off the website, and when i called a representative, i got little help there.

i don't want to take out a personal loan, actually, i want to consolidate the credit cards i have.

how can i lower my credit card/existing loan payments and interest rates and get cash without taking out a personal loan?

You have high interest outstanding credit card debt and you want to take out more debt to invest in an uncertain personal business of someone else? You can't afford to do this. Better that you pay off your credit card debt and possibly refinance your car or get a personal loan to make this investment. What's interesting here is that if your buddy needs more capital to run his business that he couldn't get it from his bank. You think you know more about this kind of investment than the banks? And investing money with friends is a great way to lose friendships, especially money you can't afford. Good luck.

I am 25 make under 40k. I have about 20k in cc debt and 40k in student loans. I am about to get sued by one of the creditors i owe money too. I am thinking that filing for bankruptcy is my best option. Although my past got me in this mess I am doing everything i can to reduce my living costs. Some of the debt has been sold off to collection agencies and I just need some good advice. I will be contacting a lawyer but i want to make sure that is in fact the best person to talk to. I am in CA so if you have any recommendations please help?

~~An attorney would have to help you decide on which chapter better fits your needs. It depends on many factors. You know though, you are not able to file on any student loans. For your other debts, just take everything to an attorney, along with your assets and payroll info, then the attorney will explain what would work best for your situation.

I know a great attorney in the I.E. What part of CA do you live in. Email me (through this forum) if you live in this area and I will gladly give you his name. He is excellent!~~

So I only have 80 dollars left on this card. I have or well had a 4100 dollar limit and througout the years thathas dissapeared. Now my minimum payment each month is 300 dollars and there is NO WAY i can pay that!! I live in an extremely expensive town and that on top of everything else i have to pay is nearly impossible. I have no idea what to do. Take out a loan?? What do i do?? Someone please please hep me!! My others cards have no where near that amount to do a balance transfer and the interest is eating me alive.

Can I get some kind of loan to pay this and then have lower interest on that? Or cant you do a consolidation loan and pull them all into one payment? If so how do i do that? I am not $10.000 in debt of credit card bills like a lot of them say you have to be…so im stuck.And i already caled my credit card company to try and get my interest rate lowered again and i cant so im just screwed!

SOMEONE PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!

Do not close the card cause it lower you available credit line. You also can use this service to pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of credit card payments. - creditreport.fateback.com

do it separately?

You have to do it separately. So if your goal is to only have 1 payment, you will never accomplish this with both federal and private loan.

A bit about the couple:

We're ages 30 and 32, we've been in a very committed relationship for almost 14 years (we met when I was 16, he 18).No kids/no pets, we both work full time Mon-Fri 9-5 jobs. He makes more money than I do, about $48k and I make about $31k.

Background for the question:

He has credit card debt (I'd say now it's about $9,000 down from $15,000 after consolidation). Sometime some time around April/May, I helped him by looking into debt consolidation and enrolled him in a program to pay of his debt without effecting his good credit. We both live paycheck to paycheck because I make "just enough" and he has debt to take care of. However, we're not that stretched because we manage to do something fun every weekend (bbq's, outings with friends, camping trips etc.).I'm the "planner" in the relationship, he can plan too, but is much more last minute when it comes to those things although he was very good about our trip to Hawaii two years ago. Just FYI, we paid 80% cash for that trip. We saved up for it all year long. There were somethings we had to put on his credit card, but it sure as hell wasn't $15,000! Just a side note to consider.

Details of the question:

So, I am trying to plan a vacation for 2010 (around April or May). It's either to go back to Hawaii or on a cruise for 7-9 days. We have a family member in the airline business that can us on the plane to Maui for free/next to nothing. I found a bungalow for $80 a night and car rental is $30 a day. VERY CHEAP for Hana, Maui. For the cruise, it's $1100 for both of us to the Caribbean (he's never been on a cruise) and it's all expenses paid for except alcohol and shopping. We can pay a deposit of $500 and pay off the cruise over the course of the year. Everytime I try to talk to him about planning a vacation for next year, he gets bugged about it, says we can't afford, we'll talk about it later and continues to put me off. I'm trying to plan in advance to make him feel more comfortable about the money (paying it off over time, paying in cash vs. credit, etc.) and that way we have plenty of time to make the best arrangements, scheduled time off and what not. NO RUSH. He hates to be rushed! Okay, so I'm trying to work with him. I can't find a common ground. He's an amazing guy (that's why I'm still with him ;o) But I don't how to handle this. I've got a bug to "see and do" and he feels like he can't do anything. He needs to FIND A WAY.

You are earning about $80,000.00 per year. It sure sounds like you can manage a vacation every few years, if not more. You sure sound like you have a head on your shoulders and have the finances under control.
Go for it!!!! Sit him down and tell him how you have earned the vacation and show him on paper. Both your choices are wonderful…. Both will be a great time and since he has never been on a cruise why not try it. The price you have is fantastic..
Go for it !!!!!.