Loans Debts And Students
Archive for August, 2008
Bankruptcy and Student Loans Don’t Always Mix
Aug 25th
Dont expect to weasel out of those student loans by filing bankruptcy. Even if student loan debt makes up a majority of an individuals debt theres a good chance that the loan will not be discharged. The governments rules for bankruptcy were changed in 1998 and student loans were ruled to be a non-dischargeable item.
The reason being that many financial institutions were losing millions of dollars and the government was losing millions as well because the federal government guaranteed many of these student loans.
With the rules of bankruptcy today, a person filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy must prove that they will have undue financial hardship if the student loans are not discharged. In most cases if student loans make up a large portion of the individuals debt, a portion of the loan may be discharged by the judge but not the entire amount.
In other cases in bankruptcy and student loans are reviewed, if the loans are found to have been sold repeatedly to other lenders and with changing interest rates it is difficult to determine an exact balance, some or all of the loan may be discharged.
The provisions of Chapter 13 bankruptcy are different for student loans. An individual filing can have all of their secured and unsecured debt become part of a repayment plan through a court trustee. If student loans are in the mix, then the individual must show they have enough income to make the monthly payments to pay off the student loan debt within five years.
Determining if Debtor Can Pay
In order to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy, an individual needs to prove that they can repay the debt. For instance, if their total debt is $100,000, the trustee divides that total by 60 months and comes up with a monthly payment of $1.667 a month. The individual must show that they can pay this monthly payment and have enough left over for living expenses. If they are able to meet this criterion then they may be able to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy and include their student loans in the deal.
However, if their income does allow for expenses plus the payment to the court, Chapter 13 will not be allowed. Their other option may be to file Chapter 13 bankruptcy to eliminate most of their other debts, freeing up money for them to make payments on student loans.
Making the monthly-required Chapter 13 bankruptcy payment in addition to student loan payments may be a struggle for some. One option is to secure a loan with lower interest rates and lower payments to pay off their student loan debt.
Home Mortgage Loan Guide
Aug 24th
If you are considering buying a home, then you may be a little confused by all of the terms you hear about home loans. After all, lenders just throw around words like fixed rate, balloon mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages without a thought. What follows are the three most common types of home loans. Study it, and determine which one would be right for you.
You will want a fixed rate loan when you are planning to buy a home and stay in it until you pay it off. With this type, you will be given an interest rate that is fixed and will not change for the life of the loan. Now, if interest rates go higher, yours will remain the same however, when interest rates go lower, you are to pay a higher rate.
The Adjustable Rate Mortgage or ARM is the second type of loan. The interest rate with this loan type goes up and down with the market. In other words, if the interest rate is low, the rate on your home mortgage will be low, but if it’s high, your loan interest rate will then reflect it. And because the interest rate on a home mortgage loan affects the payments, you will have no idea from reporting period to reporting period what your monthly mortgage payments will be. This type of loan obviously isn’t right for everyone.
This type of loan would be more preferred by those individuals who buy a house for investment purposes then plan to sell it fast as they can probably use the low interest rates, especially if they may get lower.
An ARM loan would prove to be beneficial when you buy a home on a time when the interest rates are very low. You can take an ARM and have it changed later to a fixed loan when the interest rates go lower.
The balloon home loan is the third type of loan and with this type, for a fixed amount of time with a fixed interest rate, you will do monthly payments. But in this type, you are to owe an unpaid balance in one lump of sum at the end of the payment schedule. So interest rates in this type of loan are much lower than the other two previous types.
The obvious disadvantage to this type of loan is the huge payment due at the end, but if you are planning to hold the house for a short period of time, then this might be the right loan for you.
By understanding the various types of home loans that are available to you, you will be better prepared to make a decision on choosing a home mortgage loan that is just perfect for you and your family.
Shop Online for Back to School
Aug 22nd
It’s that time of year again. Time for back to school shopping. It`s a yearly routine that most parents come to dread as their children grow. There are many reasons to detest back to school shopping . . . the horrendous crowds, unhappy kids, waiting in line, rushing through the store only to discover the “must-have” backpack or notebook is out of stock. It`s a nightmare for any parent, but fortunately, there is an alternative to this hectic method.
Shop online to beat the crowds and to make sure you get those coveted items that your child simply must have. It`s the best way to stay sane during the back to school shopping season.
The Benefits of Online Back to School Shopping
There are so many benefits that make it best to shop online. If you aren`t convinced by the fact that you won`t be battling crowds, here are a few more benefits: Better deals. There is no need to go from store to store looking for the best prices on loose-leaf or binders, it`s all right there online. Often you can apply an additional coupon code or go through a rewards program that really makes it worthwhile to shop online.
No fussing kids. Kids and long shopping trips don`t go well together, as you`ve probably noticed. This is the main reason parents dread back to school shopping, the tantrums! That`s not an issue if you are doing online shopping.
Save on gas. Just trying to find a parking space during this time of year can use up quite a bit of expensive gas. By opting to shop online you are going to save a huge amount of money. Avoid unfriendly staff. Online help is usually far more useful than frazzled in-store clerks who have been asked the same question fifty times today.
Skip the lines. Surely you have better things to do with your time than stand in line for hours. So skip that by doing your back to school shopping online and use the time for something more productive.
Shop through a rewards site. This lets you shop online like you normally would, but it also gives you extra points or prizes or even cash back for making the purchases via the rewards program.
Less stress. Getting your kids ready to go back to school is a stressful time of year anyway, so why complicate things? Spend some time relaxing instead of rushing around trying to get everything and enjoy the last few days of summer with your kids.
Get those extra special items. Every year there is at least one product that “everyone” has. Like Tickle Me Elmo, these items vanish in seconds off the store shelves, but you can almost always find them in stock online!
By doing your shopping online, you`ll find that you can take your time to source the best deals, without having to worry if someone else will grab the last one before you get there. It`s pretty easy to do a search for the items you need on Google and then look for some online coupon codes to get an extra discount.
Do your back to school online shopping and save a lot of stress and money, not to mention time. It`s so easy and everything is delivered right to your doorstep, making it rather silly to venture out in the back to school crowds! By choosing to shop online, you are practically guaranteeing that you`ll be the only sane parent out of the bunch when your kids head back to school.