Loans

Personal loans seem to be the most easily available loan, which can be used for any purpose. The easiness of the availability is one of the major reasons for the popularity of personal loans. The conventional personal loans itself were appreciated for its utility. The possibilities of personal loan have now multi-fold with the evolution of the internet. Online personal loans have revolutionized the concept of the loan processing and now you can avail personal loan from the convenience of your home/office, at the click of a mouse. Personal loans can be generally categorized into two categories, namely secured personal loans and unsecured personal loans.Personal loans are available in various titles such as credit card loans, payday loans, cash advance, guaranteed personal loans, and fast cash. Any kind of loan that does not specifically focused for a particular task can be termed as a personal loan. Hence you can use the personal loan for any purpose such as debt consolidation, meeting medical expenditure, buying artifacts, home improvements, auto repair, or for your dream holiday. Using personal loans for credit building is most appreciated as it can lead you to a bright and balanced financial future. The lender will not be bothered about the usage purpose of the loan and you do not have to produce the details about the expenditure such as in student loan and car loan.The secured personal loans are offered based on a collateral security such as car, house, real estate or any other valuable asset. The lenders will offer many privileges for the borrowers since they have no risk in their loan amount. The borrowers can enjoy maximum benefits with low interest rate and maximum loan amount. The loan repayment schedule can be extended to a couple of years; however, experts suggest reducing the loan repayment period since it will help to minimize your expense in interest. You can choose interest rates either in fixed or adjustable rates. However secured personal loans will take a little more time for processing since the lenders will approve the loan only after the verification of the asset. But today, the no fax loans have speed up the loan processing to the minimum turn around.On the other hand, the unsecured personal loans do not require any collateral security for the approval of the loan. However, the interest rate of the loan will be high as the lender is in total risk about the amount. In most cases the loan repayment period will be short for unsecured personal loans. The loan processing time is very little for unsecured loans as it does not require the verification and appraisal of the collateral.The most interesting factor about the personal loans is that it is now offered irrespective of the credit score of the people. It is true that good credit people will be able to identify the best offers in personal loans. However, the bad credit people can also avail the reasonable benefits of personal loans. The bad credit focused lenders provide advantageous benefits to personal loan to bad credit people. The intensive market search will help one to identify the most affordable rates. Obviously the interest rates are quite high in case of unsecured personal loans, but the opportunity gives a privilege for everyone to realize their dreams.

School loan consolidation provides you an opportunity to merge all your loans and pay only once for all of them. There are a number of options catering to almost everyone’s needs. These options are divided into the following two major categories:

Federal loan consolidation

Private loan consolidation
1. Federal:This type of school loan consolidation provides financial help to those who are enrolled at schools that participate in federal aid programs. By school we mean a two-year or four-year degree awarding public or private college, university or trade school.Consolidation can help reduce your student loan debt by fixing and reducing the interest rate on your loans. This loan option will also combine your separate loan debts into one package thus managing your debt paying options.Eligibility for federal loan:In order to qualify for federal consolidation, one should check out the following things before applying for it.
The candidate should no longer be enrolled in school (defined as being enrolled less than half-time)

You must be in the ‘grace period’ of the loan or must be actively repaying your loan.

Most consolidation companies require a minimum loan amount i.e. $10,000 is typical.
Types of Federal Loan:

Federal Family Education Loan Program: These are public-private loans aimed to deliver and administer guaranteed educational loans to parents and students. It provides the following types of loan for post-secondary education:

Stafford Loan: Stafford loan consolidation is a fixed-rate refinancing program that combines all your existing federal loans into one new loan.

PLUS Loan: PLUS loan consolidation is another form of federal school loan that allows you to pack all your PLUS loans previously taken to finance your kid’s education, into a single loan with a lower monthly payment.

Graduate Stafford Loan Consolidation: Graduate Stafford loan consolidation is a great financial tool for those who have recently graduated and are trying to pay off their graduate Stafford loans.

Federal Direct Consolidation Loans: Federal direct loan consolidation is a practical repayment tool that enables you to combine all your Federal Direct student loans into a single loan. Federal Direct loan offers the following consolidation options:
· Direct Subsidized Consolidation Loans: Thiscombines federal student loans eligible for interest subsidies, such as subsidized FFELP, Direct Loans and Federal Perkins Loans.· Direct Unsubsidized Consolidation Loans: Thiscombines federal student loans not eligible for interest subsidies. If any one of the loans to be consolidated is unsubsidized, then you are eligible for Unsubsidized Direct Consolidation Loan.· Direct PLUS Consolidation Loans: Thiscombines FFELP PLUS and Direct PLUS loans.Benefits of Federal Loan:Various benefits can be availed if you opt for federal program. Some of them are stated below:
Reduces monthly payments

Provides fixed interest rates

Requires only one payment every month

Improves credit rating

Offers flexible payment options

No pre-payment penalties
Disadvantages of Federal Loan Consolidation:If compared to the benefits, consolidation has lesser disadvantages, which are mentioned below:
Takes long to pay back

Increases the total amount of loan

Locked interest rates i.e. if interest rates go down, your rate will not decrease/change

Lose benefits (if any) from previous loans
2. Private loan :The purpose of private loan consolidation is more or less the same as that of federal loan consolidation but the procedure and features differ. It combines only your outstanding private education loans into one package. Private loans cover educational expenses like tuition, accommodation or any other educational expenses.Eligibility for private loan consolidation:As there are few eligibility rules to qualify for federal loan consolidation, similarly the private loan levies some regulations on every application that it receives for necessary approval. These criteria are mentioned below:
The candidate should be atleast half-time enrolled in a degree or technical/diploma program

Have a minimum of $10,000 in private educational loans

Is in repayment status of private education loans at the time of application

Have good credit standing

Have proof of accommodation and present income
Benefits of private loan:
Improves the payment history and credit score

Gives competitive interest rate against non-government loans

Provides a way to consolidate virtually all private and non-federal educational loans

Allows you to consolidate education-related debt as well as education-related credit card debt

Enable you to write fewer checks and may also lower down the monthly installments

Longer repayment term (up to 30 years in some cases)

Lower monthly payment
Federal loan versus Private – The Difference:Federal loan consolidation is a tool to refinance federal education loan only while Private loan consolidation is a way to refinance private education loan only. The main difference is that a federal loan consolidation comes with a fixed interest rate while private loan consolidation comes with a market rate that may be fixed or variable.If you consolidate both federal and private loans, you should make sure to keep them separate, i.e. refinancing a federal loan with a private loan will most likely result in a much higher interest charge, if compared to the amount you would pay by keeping them separately.Our Advice: Research thoroughly about all consolidation options first and only then choose to consolidate your school loans.