Refinancing Student Loans - Things To Consider

By Charles Gloson

On the surface, refinancing student loans seems easy enough. But you have to focus on the details so that the whole process doesn't end up too complicated for you to understand. If you want to refinance your student loans, you should get to know some tips before you actually refinance.

As you may already know, there are two types of student loans - the federal granted loans and the private loans. Federal student loans have a considerably lower interest rate when compared to private student loans. It is a must that you compute the difference of your payments before you consolidate your loans and after you consolidate them to see if it will be worth it.

The second thing you have to remember is that refinancing your student loans is similar to getting any other kind of loan. Therefore, be sure to preserve and clean up your credit history before applying for one. Lenders will use your credit history to determine your eligibility. It is best if you start cleaning up your credit history several months before you refinance your student loans so that you can make corrections as needed. With a solid credit score, you get better rates and reduced fees.

Interest rates on federal loans change once a year, usually on the first of July. If you are wary of getting a higher interest rate for your loan once the change occurs, avail of one before this period. Different lenders have different requirements and criteria to be met before becoming eligible for refinancing. It is to your advantage that you know these requirements before applying so that you don't waste your time applying only to be ineligible in the end.

Refinancing student loans is a big responsibility to take. Therefore, you have to be very careful before signing any agreement with your lender. Take time to read and reread your policy to understand all your rights and responsibilities as a borrower. Don't miss out the fine print of the agreement because the surprises are usually stated there. If you have other ways of reducing your student loan repayments aside from consolidating them, consider each one carefully and know its pros and cons.

You should also take advantage of the promos, discounts, and incentives that lenders give their borrowers if you are up to date with your payments. Other instances where you can avail of discounts are when you pay early or have an automatic debit arrangement for your payments. Taking advantage of these incentives can make you save over a full 1% of your payments each month.

Refinancing student loans is not rocket science but you need to spend some time to understand how it works and what benefits it can give to you. When you understand the basics of refinancing student loans, you are given the peace of mind that you've actually taken the right step in consolidating your student loans with the right company. - 31377

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