Entries Tagged 'Loan' ↓

4 Important Facts About Student Loan Consolidation

When getting loans you should always understand what you’re getting yourself into before you sign up. So here are 4 important facts you should know about consolidating student loans.

Fact 1: Same Interest Rates For Everyone At The Start
All federal student loan consolidation rates must start with the same rates that are suggested by Congress every year. Student loan consolidation companies are required to give everyone the same federal rates

Fact 2: You Save Money On The Benefits
If it’s your first time consolidating your loan then the real savings are in the benefits and discounts of signing up.

Standard benefit: 0.25% off your rate for using automatic checking account withdrawal.
Standard benefit: 0.6% off your repayment rate if you consolidate in your grace period.
Extra benefit: if you have more than $20,000 in federal student loans, 1.0% off after your first 36 on time payments.

Ok let’s start with a scenario, of $25,000 in federal Stafford loans and your rate before 1 July 2006 is at 3.37%. If you’re still in your grace period (6 months before your payments start only for graduates) you’re rate will decrease to 2.875%.

Automatic checking account withdrawal will reduce is further to 2.625% and after your 36th on time payments your rates will drop a further 1.0% to a new low of 1.625%. This is how the benefits of student loan consolidation really works and it really saves you a lot of money.

Fact 3: Read The Fine Print Before You Sign Anything!
Some loan companies will give you a list of borrower’s benefits for signing up with them. For example if you make 24 on time payments you’ll get 1% off which is great but in the fine print it’s only available for loans above $50,000. Statistically, only 17% of all graduates will have a loan debt this high so it’s not advised to sign up with this particular company.

Other companies give even better benefits like 2.5% off your rate but they’ll only give you a grace period of 3 days. That’s not going to work because what happens if your mail got delayed or worse you didn’t check your mail? It means that you’ll loose your benefits so be careful and always read the fine print.

Fact 4: Good Customer Service Is Important
Some student loan companies will do anything to make you call them but when you do you find yourself lost because some companies don’t train their phone staff well and they fail to answer simple questions. So when ringing up loan companies make sure they are well versed in their products and they know their products and rates. Also make sure that when you wait on the phone for a consultant, that you don’t wait too long like 1 hour because it could mean they are under staff or they are taking on too many applications at one time which means they might not always be able to take your call after you’ve sign up.

I hope these facts will help you in your decision and may you have a successful time finding the best student loan consolidation company.

Consolidate Student Loans and Student Loan Consolidation information, reviews and tips to help you with your student finance.

Different Types Of Business Loans

Successful businesses run with a positive balance of working capital. But sometimes business owners need to reach out for additional funding to accomplish a given goal, like perhaps buying new and better equipment, buying advertisement to increase its products or services demand, investing on opening a new location or simply paying off debt. Generally, merchants tend to approach the traditional banking institutions, simply because they are unaware of different types of funding options that can help them to meet the much needed working capital. In many cases business owners find the right option when contacting the right unsecured business loans lender.

Most times, unsecured business loans are structured in a 6 to 12 months payback term, which should be enough to solve the short term financial problems of your business. These types of unsecured loans differ greatly from the traditional funding sources, as they require no personal collateral and you won’t be personally liable for it. Besides, the application process is very simple and fast and your business can receive the much needed funding in as little as 7 days.

Because these types of unsecured loans don’t require any type of warranty, they are more expensive than traditional funding options, and only apply to business owners who have been in business for at least 1 year and currently process credit cards as a form of payment. A few of its requirements are: that the merchant has no open bankruptcies, no tax liens, have at least 1 year remaining in its location lease and process at least $2,500 in credit cards sales monthly. Continue reading →