Comments for Student Loan Interest 101 http://studentloaninterest.info Thu, 17 May 2012 21:23:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Comment on Hey everyone. Question for the mortgage professionals. Is it worth contacting my present lender? See details.? by Kislay http://studentloaninterest.info/432-hey-everyone-question-for-the-mortgage-professionals-is-it-worth-contacting-my-present-lender-see-details/#comment-200 Kislay Thu, 17 May 2012 21:23:26 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/432-hey-everyone-question-for-the-mortgage-professionals-is-it-worth-contacting-my-present-lender-see-details/#comment-200 It appears to me that u r looking to get a rate/term refinance and u r looking to lower down your monthly payments. No doubt that the present rate on which u r sitting is high for a 5/25 ARM loan. I would not suggest u to go to your present lender as they wud not b able to help u much. They can only help u to reduce the closing cost. Try contacting your local county to get an overview for a FHA Secured Refinance program. This wud be the best option for u in current mortgage market scenario. U can also try to approach your present or any other lender to see what they have to offer u in case of Interest only ARM program. There is a fine line which differ this program from Negative Amortization loan. Your principal under this program would not reduce for the term of 3,5,7 or 10 yrs. U wud only be paying the interest for initial term and hence the payments can be low than your present payments. It appears to me that u r looking to get a rate/term refinance and u r looking to lower down your monthly payments. No doubt that the present rate on which u r sitting is high for a 5/25 ARM loan. I would not suggest u to go to your present lender as they wud not b able to help u much. They can only help u to reduce the closing cost. Try contacting your local county to get an overview for a FHA Secured Refinance program. This wud be the best option for u in current mortgage market scenario.

U can also try to approach your present or any other lender to see what they have to offer u in case of Interest only ARM program. There is a fine line which differ this program from Negative Paying back loan. Your principal under this program would not reduce for the term of 3,5,7 or 10 yrs. U wud only be paying the interest for initial term and hence the payments can be low than your present payments.

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by Goonhilda http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-199 Goonhilda Wed, 16 May 2012 20:16:33 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-199 If you clear the debts as soon as you can, you will save hundreds of dollars in interest. Get rid of the car loans. If it means sellling your car and buying a much cheaper one, do that. Loans for cars are a great way to throw money away. Get rid of the Target Store Card, because you don't need it. Also, get rid of the Care Credit line of credit, and the furniture credit. Seriously, I think your debt burden will make it impossible to get a decent deal on a loan, so stop hamstringing yourselves and clear those debts. Start with the highest interest rate debt. Pay that one off first, while making minimum repayments on the lower interest rate debts. Then, when you've cleared the first debt, move the amount you have been paying on it onto the second highest interest rate debt, and clear that. This is by far the easiest and most cost effective way to clear your debts, and will get you ahead financially. Once you've cleared those debts, start putting at least what you were paying on the debts into a savings account. If you think you don't have money for a down payment, then you should not buy a house. You're living on credit, and that's a bad habit to get into, because if one of you loses a job (particularly the one who earns the highest income) you're screwed financially, because you're forking out for interest as well as the actual cost of what you're buying. If you think you can't save a deposit now, you'd be destitute if one of you was injured or sick and couldn't work, if you were still trying to make those repayments. So try to live on his income only, or at least half of what both of you make. Have a timeline to clear the debts by a certain date, and then save for another year at least. Save at least a 15% or 20% deposit for a house. Saving a large deposit does several things. It means you can borrow less to buy a house. It means that the lender can see that you have a savings history, and that you will be a reliable customer, which means that you will be able to make payments. This means you're more likely to get a lower rate on your homeloan, which will save you THOUSANDS of dollars over the life of the loan. On your income, you should be able to get a homeloan if you do these things. Put off buying a home until you've got that debt under control. Buy a modest house. Don't buy anything brand new, and only borrow what you can afford to repay on his $ 35 000 income. That means, if you lose your job, or he loses his job, you can still survive. Your debt burden is pretty serious for someone with no credit cards, so clear as much as you can, and then save a deposit. Look at some repayment calculators online to work out what the repayments would be. ALWAYS repay more than the minimum. This will set you up for financial security. My partner and I earn far less than you do, and we're paying our house off in 5 years from getting the keys. We make double repayments, made sure we had a 30% deposit, and bought a modest house, so we can rent it out later when we buy what we actually want. We had NO DEBT BURDEN going into the loan, and that worked in our favour. We're currently paying a far lower rate of interest than our friends who borrowed far more money. We're Aussies, and currently we're paying 8.75% on our homeloan, which is 1.25% higher than when we bought twelve months ago. We've already paid three years worth of payments in our first year, saving us thousands of dollars in interest. By my calculation, our current repayment amount will save us over $ 100 000 over making the minimum repayments. I'd much rather spend that money on a nicer house down the track. You can't buy a house right now, but you can in the future if you start preparing. If we could on less than half what you make, then you can too, but you've got to get rid of that debt and live within your means. Save at least 10% of your incomes when you're debt free, and you should be well on your way to getting your own home. If you save a decent deposit, you won't have to pay mortgage insurance, which covers the bank if you default, and is an unnecessary ongoing expense. Stay away from full finance loans. They are bad news, because if you can't meet repayments, you have no equity in the home, and you basically lose everything and then some. Best wishes If you clear the debts as soon as you can, you will save hundreds of dollars in interest. Get rid of the car loans. If it means sellling your car and buying a much cheaper one, do that. Loans for cars are a fantastic way to throw money away. Get rid of the Target Store Card, because you don’t need it. Also, get rid of the Care Credit line of credit, and the furniture credit. Seriously, I reckon your debt burden will make it impossible to get a decent deal on a loan, so stop hamstringing yourselves and clear those debts.

Start with the highest interest rate debt. Pay that one off first, while making minimum repayments on the lower interest rate debts. Then, when you’ve cleared the first debt, go the amount you have been paying on it onto the second highest interest rate debt, and clear that. This is by far the simplest and most cost effective way to clear your debts, and will get you ahead financially.

Once you’ve cleared those debts, start putting at least what you were paying on the debts into a savings account. If you reckon you don’t have money for a down payment, then you should not buy a house. You’re living on credit, and that’s a terrible habit to get into, because if one of you loses a job (above all the one who earns the highest income) you’re screwed financially, because you’re forking out for interest as well as the actual cost of what you’re buying. If you reckon you can’t save a deposit now, you’d be destitute if one of you was injured or sick and couldn’t work, if you were still trying to make those repayments. So try to live on his income only, or at least half of what both of you make. Have a timeline to clear the debts by a certain date, and then save for another year at least. Save at least a 15% or 20% deposit for a house.

Saving a large deposit does several things. It means you can borrow less to buy a house. It means that the lender can see that you have a savings history, and that you will be a reliable customer, which means that you will be able to make payments. This means you’re more likely to get a lower rate on your homeloan, which will save you THOUSANDS of dollars over the life of the loan.

On your income, you should be able to get a homeloan if you do these things. Place off buying a home until you’ve got that debt under control. Buy a modest house. Don’t buy anything groundbreaking new, and only borrow what you can afford to repay on his $ 35 000 income. That means, if you lose your job, or he loses his job, you can still survive.

Your debt burden is pretty serious for someone with no credit cards, so clear as much as you can, and then save a deposit. Look at some repayment calculators online to work out what the repayments would be. ALWAYS repay more than the minimum. This will set you up for financial security.

My partner and I earn far less than you do, and we’re paying our house off in 5 years from getting the keys. We make double repayments, made sure we had a 30% deposit, and bought a modest house, so we can rent it out later when we buy what we really want. We had NO DEBT BURDEN going into the loan, and that worked in our favour. We’re currently paying a far lower rate of interest than our friends who borrowed far more money. We’re Aussies, and currently we’re paying 8.75% on our homeloan, which is 1.25% higher than when we bought twelve months ago. We’ve already paid three years worth of payments in our first year, saving us thousands of dollars in interest. By my calculation, our current repayment amount will save us over $ 100 000 over making the minimum repayments. I’d much rather spend that money on a nicer house down the track.

You can’t buy a house right now, but you can in the future if you start preparing. If we could on less than half what you make, then you can too, but you’ve got to get rid of that debt and live within your means. Save at least 10% of your incomes when you’re debt free, and you should be well on your way to getting your own home. If you save a decent deposit, you won’t have to pay mortgage insurance, which covers the bank if you default, and is an unnecessary ongoing expense. Stay away from full finance loans. They are terrible news, because if you can’t meet repayments, you have no equity in the home, and you basically lose everything and then some.

Best wishes

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by Formely known as Frank Castle http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-198 Formely known as Frank Castle Wed, 16 May 2012 19:34:19 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-198 You need to save money for a down payment. You need to sell your car to somebody else that can actually afford a car. You husband needs to sell your car to somebody else that can actually afford a car. Pay your Target debt and don't use it anymore (Unless you plan to pay the balance in full at the end of each month) You cannot afford to buy a house. Yes, you should buy a house. You need to save money for a down payment.
You need to sell your car to somebody else that can really afford a car.
You husband needs to sell your car to somebody else that can really afford a car.
Pay your Target debt and don’t use it anymore (Unless you plot to pay the balance in full at the end of each month)

You cannot afford to buy a house.

Yes, you should buy a house.

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by Grannie http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-197 Grannie Wed, 16 May 2012 19:06:37 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-197 Hi, Where do you live? What are the house prices like? What kind of house are you willing to purchase? Find a good local Realtor, who can steer you toward a good lender, or check with your financial institution and take the first step, see if you can qualify for a loan and if so how much. Most lenders want a longer period of time for work history than a year, but if your previous jobs have been in the same field and it's merely a case of switching companies, they will consider that to be the same job, thus longer term. Inquire about any First Time Home Buyer loans that may be available in your state (we live in NC and there are programs available specifically for first time buyers) Start saving some money, even if it's just $ 25.00 a week it adds up. If you do qualify, there are many advantages to owning your own home. The tax advantage, pride of ownership, investment, just being able to improve your home (painting, remodeling, whatever) with the knowledge that it is YOUR property that is benefiting from your effort. The one thing you need to keep in mind is you DO NOT want to buy your first home for the maximum amount of your loan qualification. If you are comfortable at the $ 879 rental amount, don't buy a home where the mortgage is going to be more that your rental payment. The biggest mistake most people make when buying a home is to go to their maximum qualified loan amount. You will end up working for the house, with no money for the pleasures of life. As a retired Realtor, I have seen too many of my fellow Realtor's encourage first time, and second time, home buyers to go for a home that will force them to eat, sleep and work for that piece of real estate....you will end up hating the house, hating the Realtor and too often hating each other. Home ownership is great. Better to be paying off your own home, instead of someone else's property. Just remember some of the best buys out there are the houses with the potential (with a bit of work) to be magnificent, not the ones that are already magnificent. Good Luck Hi,

Where do you live? What are the house prices like? What kind of house are you willing to buy?

Find a excellent local Realtor, who can steer you toward a excellent lender, or check with your financial society and take the first step, see if you can qualify for a loan and if so how much.

Most lenders want a longer period of time for work history than a year, but if your previous jobs have been in the same field and it’s merely a case of switching companies, they will consider that to be the same job, thus longer term.

Inquire about any First Time Home Buyer loans that may be available in your state (we live in NC and there are programs available specifically for first time buyers)

Start saving some money, even if it’s just $ 25.00 a week it adds up.

If you do qualify, there are many advantages to owning your own home. The tax advantage, pride of ownership, investment, just being able to improve your home (painting, remodeling, whatever) with the knowledge that it is YOUR property that is benefiting from your effort.

The one thing you need to keep in mind is you DO NOT want to buy your first home for the maximum amount of your loan qualification. If you are comfortable at the $ 879 rental amount, don’t buy a home where the mortgage is going to be more that your rental payment.

The largest mistake most people make when buying a home is to go to their maximum qualified loan amount. You will end up working for the house, with no money for the pleasures of life. As a retired Realtor, I have seen too many of my fellow Realtor’s encourage first time, and second time, home buyers to go for a home that will force them to eat, sleep and work for that piece of real estate….you will end up hating the house, hating the Realtor and too often hating each other.

Home ownership is fantastic. Better to be paying off your own home, instead of someone else’s property. Just remember some of the best buys out there are the houses with the potential (with a bit of work) to be magnificent, not the ones that are already magnificent.

Excellent Luck

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by chatsplas@sbcglobal.net http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-196 chatsplas@sbcglobal.net Wed, 16 May 2012 19:05:03 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-196 Don't buy more house than you can afford! 1.My advice is to wait a year or two. Impossible to get good loan with no money down now. During that year+, save up for a down payment. This will save you a lot of money, if you can pay down 20%, you don't need PMI every month on top of your principal, interest, insurance and real estate tax payments. 2.Work on your credit during the year. Pay EVERYTHING on time. Get your student loans out of forbearance and start paying on them. Pay double the minimums on your credit cards every month. Don't use your cards, pay down all balances (higher interest first), and eliminate extra cards. Getting a year+ of an excellent credit rating will earn you a cheaper interest rate, and more favorable treatment. 3.Set up a monthly budget. Think of your goal of buying a home. Question EVERY purchase: Is this a Need or a Want. Save, save, save! Defer purchases, and limit your "wants" purchases. A year of determination can put you two in the position of home ownership. You're not ready now, but you can do it! Don’t buy more house than you can afford!
1.My advice is to wait a year or two. Impossible to get excellent loan with no money down now. During that year+, save up for a down payment. This will save you a lot of money, if you can pay down 20%, you don’t need PMI every month on top of your principal, interest, insurance and real estate tax payments.
2.Work on your credit during the year. Pay EVERYTHING on time. Get your student loans out of leniency and start paying on them. Pay double the minimums on your credit cards every month. Don’t use your cards, pay down all balances (higher interest first), and eliminate extra cards. Getting a year+ of an brilliant credit rating will earn you a cheaper interest rate, and more favorable treatment.
3.Set up a monthly budget. Reckon of your goal of buying a home. Question EVERY buy: Is this a Need or a Want. Save, save, save! Defer buys, and limit your “wants” buys. A year of determination can place you two in the position of home ownership. You’re not ready now, but you can do it!

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by Alicia 007 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-195 Alicia 007 Wed, 16 May 2012 18:12:50 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-195 Save, Save, save, when you have 10% saved, lets say you purchase a home for 300,000 you'll need $ 30,000 plus closing costs fees, sometimes seller's are ok with helping you with some money towards your purchase(closing costs). the other think you can do is start visiting New Homes and start planning, Builders will offer to help, but alwas ask for the monthly payment, including Taxes, Insuranse and HOA (Home owners Association) also inquire if they have any additional tax. I prefer to buy a home that is in a city that does not have additional taxes, CFD (Community Facility Distrect ) some times they are as high as property taxes, be carful with your decition, I don't know where you are planning to buy, but always make sure you become informed, also Realtors are a good thing to have, you don't pay their commission the seller does, if you are thinking about buying become very knowledgable first ( don't sign anything before becoming informed, read all about it, go to the Library)Good luck! I have purchase 2 homes and both times I've learned so much, if I were you I will stay away from associations the so call HOA they are good but also is a pain in the neck, they check you up all the time, noice level, and many other restrictions, like I said become informed. Save, Save, save, when you have 10% saved, lets say you buy a home for 300,000 you’ll need $ 30,000 plus closing costs fees, sometimes seller’s are ok with helping you with some money towards your buy(closing costs).
the other reckon you can do is start visiting New Homes and start plotting, Builders will offer to help, but alwas question for the monthly payment, including Taxes, Insuranse and HOA (Home owners Friendship) also inquire if they have any additional tax.
I prefer to buy a home that is in a city that does not have additional taxes, CFD (Community Facility Distrect ) some times they are as high as property taxes, be carful with your decition, I don’t know where you are plotting to buy, but always make sure you become informed, also Realtors are a excellent thing to have, you don’t pay their commission the seller does, if you are thinking about buying become very knowledgable first ( don’t sign anything before becoming informed, read all about it, go to the Library)Excellent luck! I have buy 2 homes and both times I’ve learned so much, if I were you I will stay away from associations the so call HOA they are excellent but also is a pain in the neck, they check you up all the time, noice level, and many other restrictions, like I said become informed.

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by heybulldog http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-194 heybulldog Wed, 16 May 2012 17:54:21 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-194 Your not ready to buy a house. You need to clean up the debt first. You have $ 75k in student debt. plus car debt and other debt. You make 80k a yr. Live on 30k and put 50 k on the debt. You'll be outta debt in 2 yrs or less(just think of all the money in interest you will save) depending on what you owe on the cars. Once you are outta debt. Live on 30k for another yr and put a 50k downpayment. Don't buy to much house and get a 15 yr fixed rate. With payments No more than 25% of your take home pay a month. Without all the debt you will be ready for anything that comes up. When you own your own home murphy will move in. Also, You don't have to worship the almighty fico score to get a home loan. You can get a home loan without a fico score. It's called manual underwriting. It's NOT a sub prime loan. It's the way home loans were givin' before all the fico score worship. You can get the lowest interest rates out there. You might wanna go to http://www.daveramsey.com and listen to his radio show. He has lots of great advice on money and debt. It doesn't cost a dime to listen to the radio. Your not ready to buy a house. You need to clean up the debt first. You have $ 75k in student debt. plus car debt and other debt. You make 80k a yr. Live on 30k and place 50 k on the debt. You’ll be outta debt in 2 yrs or less(just reckon of all the money in interest you will save) depending on what you owe on the cars. Once you are outta debt. Live on 30k for another yr and place a 50k downpayment. Don’t buy to much house and get a 15 yr fixed rate. With payments No more than 25% of your take home pay a month.

Without all the debt you will be ready for anything that comes up. When you own your own home murphy will go in.

Also, You don’t have to worship the almighty fico score to get a home loan. You can get a home loan without a fico score. It’s called manual underwriting. It’s NOT a sub prime loan. It’s the way home loans were givin’ before all the fico score worship. You can get the lowest interest rates out there.

You might wanna go to http://www.daveramsey.com and listen to his radio show. He has lots of fantastic advice on money and debt. It doesn’t cost a dime to listen to the radio.

]]> Comment on Should I accept the money? by bonsai http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-193 bonsai Wed, 16 May 2012 17:21:33 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/428-should-i-accept-the-money/#comment-193 First - if somebody begins with "its a good time to buy a house now", don't even read the rest, its just bull. The housing market will not hit rock bottom until 2009, I make a bet on that. Conventional estimates are, that 12 Million homeowners will lose their home this year. Second - For a house you have to pay - down payment, mortgage, taxes, maintenance, utilities, real estate agents, about 40 fees when you close, you never get back and more. Try to calculate what a house will really cost you, you are going to be surprised. Every once in a while you need new roof, new windows, garden maintenance and much more. If you have to move and the market isn't great, you can lose 50,000 or 80,000 Dollars. Third - if you need for a carrier move change location, you have a rock around your neck. Fourth- historically, house values have (with exception of some areas and bubble times) just kept up with inflation, not increased. First – if somebody starts with “its a excellent time to buy a house now”, don’t even read the rest, its just bull.
The housing market will not hit rock bottom until 2009, I make a bet on that. Square estimates are, that 12 Million homeowners will lose their home this year.
Second – For a house you have to pay – down payment, mortgage, taxes, maintenance, utilities, real estate agents, about 40 fees when you close, you never get back and more.
Try to calculate what a house will really cost you, you are going to be surprised. Every once in a while you need new roof, new windows, garden maintenance and much more.
If you have to go and the market isn’t fantastic, you can lose 50,000 or 80,000 Dollars.
Third – if you need for a carrier go change location, you have a rock around your neck.
Fourth- historically, house values have (with exception of some areas and bubble times) just kept up with inflation, not increased.

]]> Comment on Student Loan calculation question.? by Tyrant http://studentloaninterest.info/426-student-loan-calculation-question/#comment-192 Tyrant Wed, 16 May 2012 11:21:08 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/426-student-loan-calculation-question/#comment-192 It is also the fact that since demad for higher education is only going up they have no need to lower prices. Like oil, no matter how high it goes its inelastic and people will still buy it. Here in Florida the heads of the university heads and allied state congressmen enacted a law that allows colleges university to increase all chargeable services (tuitiin, fees, room and board) by 15% each year until it reches the national average in costs. After then it can oly increase pricing by 3% each year. Right there that's in a sense fraudulent actions of dealing with private interests. So until around 2015-17 prices will continue to increade by 10-15% It is also the fact that since demad for higher education is only going up they have no need to lower prices. Like oil, no matter how high it goes its inelastic and people will still buy it.
Here in Florida the heads of the university heads and allied state congressmen enacted a law that allows colleges university to increase all chargeable services (tuitiin, fees, room and board) by 15% each year until it reches the national average in costs. After then it can oly increase pricing by 3% each year.

Right there that’s in a sense fraudulent actions of dealing with private interests. So until around 2015-17 prices will continue to increade by 10-15%

]]> Comment on Student Loan calculation question.? by Cecil n http://studentloaninterest.info/426-student-loan-calculation-question/#comment-191 Cecil n Wed, 16 May 2012 11:04:26 +0000 http://studentloaninterest.info/426-student-loan-calculation-question/#comment-191 Tuition may or may not be growing, state funding, however, is falling. The amount students have to pay is increasing. News Flash! State funding comes from taxpayer dollars. Those seeking higher education should not rely on others to pay their way. There is such a thing as "working your way through school." That means holding a job while going to college, a thing almost unheard of with today's coddled students. The majority of most business expense is labor cost. Try asking overpaid, incompetent professors and administrators to take a pay cut to help "less fortunate" students. Tuition may or may not be growing, state funding, but, is falling. The amount students have to pay is increasing. News Flash! State funding comes from taxpayer dollars. Those seeking higher education should not rely on others to pay their way. There is such a thing as “working your way through school.” That means holding a job while going to college, a thing nearly unheard of with today’s coddled students. The majority of most business expense is labor cost. Try asking overpaid, incompetent professors and administrators to take a pay cut to help “less fortunate” students.

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