What Documents Will I Need To Provide
When you are ready to apply to refinance your student loans, get the following documents in order:
- The most-recent loan statement for each loan that you want to refinance, showing your loan servicer’s name and address, along with the repayment start date, estimated payoff date, original loan balance, current loan balance, interest type, and interest rate.
- Drivers license, passport, or bank statement to verify your address.
- Your last months pay stubs.
- Your most recent tax return.
- Proof of graduation.
Should I Refinance My Student Loans Now
This answer comes down to whether you are eligible for a lower interest rate than you are paying right now.
Youre able to apply for refinancing as soon as you graduate – however most people wait until the deferment period is over and they have a monthly payment every month.
The primary consideration when refinancing, for many, is lowering their monthly payments. If you have high-interest loans, it is often possible to achieve this.
Navirefi Refinance Reviews From Reddit The Bbb And Others
The reputation of NaviRei is limited but not great. Additionally, the connection between NaviRefi and larger companies like Navient and Sallie Mae is troubling.
NaviRefi loans are a product of Navient, and Navient was the subject of many lawsuits for failing to properly service federal student loans. Additionally, Navient was originally part of Sallie Mae, another lender with a negative reputation.
Shifting to NaviRefi specifically, the reviews are mixed at best.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The CFPB database on NaviRefi complaints only has two borrower complaints. Unfortunately, both complaints raise a serious issue about private refinancing of federal student loans. Consumers should use caution in the refinance process if they have federal student loans.
The Better Business Bureau The Better Business Bureau does not have a listing for NaviRefi, but they do include Earnest and Navient. Navient is not rated, but they have a 1/5 score from 95 BBB users. Earnest is A-rated by the BBB but has a 1.27/5 score from 26 users.
Reddit Looking through the Reddit posts about NaviRefi, the feedback is mixed at best. Some readers were able to lower their interest rates with a NaviRefi invitation, but others took issue with the Navient affiliation and the application process. Those that shopped around seemed to find better rates elsewhere, but this information was limited.
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When Refinancing Navient Loans Makes Sense
To refinance wisely, borrowers need two things to come together: opportunity and strategy. Determining whether or not refinancing is a good idea is relatively simple.
- Strategy A refinance only makes sense if it saves money. For private student loan borrowers, the question is simple: can I get a lower interest rate elsewhere? If the answer is yes, a refinance strategy makes sense. For federal student loan borrowers, the question is a bit more complicated. Programs like income-driven repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness can be great resources. If borrowers need these federal perks, dealing with Navient may be a necessary evil. If borrowers wont ever use the perks that go with federal loans, opting for a lower interest alternative can make sense.
- Opportunity Refinancing is a great option, but not everyone can do it. Lenders like Laurel Road and SoFi offer interest rates starting at about 2%, but the catch is that prospective customers need to have a decent income and credit score. For these lenders to make money on their low-interest loans, they must be sure that borrowers will pay it back in full. The good news for borrowers is that each lender evaluates applications differently. Several lenders may see you as a bad bet and reject your application, but it only takes one lender to see you as a good investment. For this reason, borrowers interested in refinancing should check out rates with at least 3 or 4 of the many student loan refinance companies.
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Can Refinancing Help Me Pay Off My Debt Faster
Refinancing can help you pay off your debt faster in a few ways. One way is by reducing the length of the loan. For instance, you can refinance a 60-month loan into a 45-month loan, setting you debt-free 15 months earlier than scheduled.
Another way to pay off the debt faster is to refinance to a lower interest rate while at the same time increasing your monthly payments. This way, you will pay less in interest every month, while also paying less in total over the life of the loan.
Refinancing to a lower interest rate will only get you out of debt quicker if you continue to make the same payments you were making, or higher. In other words, if you lower your monthly payments it will take you even longer to crawl out of debt. The only reason to lower your monthly payments is if youre struggling to make ends meet.
If you want to free yourself of debt as soon as possible, you need to make as the highest monthly payment you can afford, without overextending your resources or exhausting your cash flow.
About The Author
Navirefi Review: Student Loan Refinancing With Navient
NaviRefi advertises great interest rates, but their connection to Navient and some consumer complaints are cause for concern.
On the surface, NaviRefi is just another student loan refinance lender.
They offer competitive rates and the opportunity for many borrowers to save money on their student loans.
Yet, the existence of NaviRefi is strange.
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Ready To Lower Your Student Loan Payments And Get Out Of Debt Faster
Find out how much you can save right now with:
Disclaimer: The information obtained throughout the Nitro site is intended to be used for educational purposes only. All product names, logos, and other trademarks displayed within the Nitro site are the property of their respective owners. Here at Nitro we strive to provide you with accurate, up-to-date information, but suggest checking the source directly. We recommend consulting a licensed financial professional before making any financial decisions. This site may be compensated through our partner relationships. NitroCollege.com is not endorsed or affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education.
About Navient And Sallie Mae Student Loans
Sallie Mae was created in the 1970s, and since its establishment, it has been offering and providing student credits in the purpose of helping students to get higher education service. Even though Sallie Mae was functioning by depending on government funding, it is an entirely private company. It means that they provide only private student loans. It is essential to take into account this consideration because the requirements and conditions of federal and private student loans are ultimately different and unique. By the way it worth to note that Sallie Mae was providing student loan consolidation and refinancing service up until 2008. But, after this period, since now, it functions only as private loan servicer which only offers private loans for k-12 schools, training for a career, and colleges.
On the other hand, Navient still maintains its position as one of the most important and the most significant student loan servicer in the whole US . Navient is still providing both private and federal student credits for all types of education service including college, schools, and career training programs. But eligibility requirements and conditions are much more flexible and elastic in compare with Sallie Mae.
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If You Dont Qualify For Student Loan Forgiveness
Qualifying for student loan forgiveness is for federal employees, teachers, or those who work in a public service. If you work in one of these fields and you have been consistent in your payments, you could be eligible to have your federal student loans forgiven. Once you refinance, these benefits will no longer be available to you. If you are eligible for student loan forgiveness, we recommend calculating whether student loan forgiveness or refinancing will save you more money over the life of your loans.
Does Navient Provide Student Loan Refinancing
Navient servicer mainly handles private loans and federal loan servicing. If you have a question that whether you can refinance your existing student loans through Navient, then the answer is no. Navient does not offer student loan refinancing. But it offers refinancing through NaviRefi. You also have a number of other lenders who offer student loan refinancing as a service.
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Should I Refinance My Student Loans
If youre drowning in student loan payments every month, youve probably wondered Should I refinance my student loans? Refinancing student loans can absolutely take some of the pressure off and it can save you a lot of money over time. But of course, its important to know what youre getting into first.
Lets dig into what student loan refinancing is and when you should refinance your student loans. Plus how to apply for refinancing, use a student loan refinancing calculator, and other things to consider for your debt payoff plan.
Refinancing Private Student Loans
Private student loans can be refinanced, either with your original lender or a new private lender. There are pros and cons to refinancing:
- Pro: The most common reason to refinance a private student loan is to save money over the life of your loan, usually through a better interest rate and a different term .
- Con: A possible downside is whether the money youll save will offset any valuable benefits your original lender offered. Also, a longer repayment term may result in your paying more overall.
Youll want to consider both the interest rate and the repayment term when youre deciding whether refinancing is right for you.
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Reduce Your Interest Rate
Refinancing student loans can potentially lower your interest rate. This could save you thousands of dollars, depending on your loan amount and the new loan terms. For example, say you have $50,000 in student loan debt at 7% interest on a 10-year term. If you were able to refinance that amount at a lower rate of 4% for the same term, you would save $8,918.
Use our Student Loan Refinancing Calculator to estimate how much you could lower your total and monthly loan payments by refinancing your student loans.
When It Would Save You Money
The main goal of refinancing with a private lender is to lower the interest rate on your student loans federal and/or private with one new loan with a new rate that pays off the existing loans.
When rates are low, refinancing student loans could make a lot of sense. How much could you save? This student loan refi calculator can be enlightening.
Refinancing could be a great choice for working graduates who have higher-interest Direct Unsubsidized Loans, graduate PLUS loans, and/or private loans.
It could be smart to refinance law school debt and MBA loans.
Given that the average dental school graduate enters the profession with nearly $300,000 in student loans, refinancing could be a good idea.
The average debt load to get through medical school is also high. Medical residents and fellows may be able to refinance and make low monthly payments until becoming attending physicians.
In fact, all medical professionals, including nurses, may want to see if they could save money by refinancing.
Parent PLUS loans may also be good candidates for refinancing.
Perhaps youve heard of student loan consolidation. Federal student loan consolidation would combine all your federal student loans into one, but the rate is the average of those loans interest rates rounded up to the next one-eighth of one percentage point.
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Is It Possible To Convert Private Loans Into A Federal Loan
First of all, it worth to note that before starting to apply for any change, the first and forefront thing is to check out your student loan status. You have to determine what kind of student loan you have currently. Is it a federal or private student loan? To check the status of your credit, it is recommended to use the Department of Educations Federal Student Loan Database. If you can see your credit on this database, then it means that your credit is a federal student loan. In opposite, if you could not find your loan on this base, it means you have a private student loan.
After you find out the status of your student loan, now here it comes to the exciting part. Could you convert private loans into a federal loan? Unfortunately, the direct answer is no. But, even though the US Department of Education does not allow to transform a private student loan into a federal loan, it doesnt mean that you dont have other alternatives to tackle down with your multiple loan debts. Especially, if you have borrowed money through a couple of lenders, then you have several options that allow you to get rid of your debts with a smaller amount of monthly payments.
Are You Comfortable With Assuming More Risk In Your Financial Life
Refinancing with a private loan may be a good option if you are highly motivated to repay your student debt have a secure job, emergency savings, and strong credit are unlikely to benefit from forgiveness options, and have a low fixed rate option available OR you will have access to sufficient funds in the near future. However, if you do not meet these criteria, many financial advisors suggest that trading in federal loans for private loans may expose you to additional financial risk. Therefore, before you assume possible financial risk, evaluate your current situation to determine whether you could afford repayment if something unexpected happens.
Federal loans will give you the ability to benefit from flexible terms and conditions, including access to income-driven repayment plans and possible loan forgiveness, potential interest subsidies, limits to monthly payment amounts, the availability of a death and disability discharge, and possible student loan tax deductions. Be sure the reward received in a refinance is enough to offset the potential risk.
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Private debt and federal debt can operate very differently, especially when it comes to repayment. Know what youre giving up and what you will gain because refinancing federal loans into a private loan cannot be undone. |
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Why Refinance Student Loans
For one, student loan refinancing is a form of debt relief and can help ease the burden of your debt load and provide solutions to several issues that make it difficult to pay off your loans. If you feel bogged down by your student loan debt and finances are tight, there are several factors that might motivate you to refinance student loans.
Biden Cancelled $15 Billion Of Student Debt For Borrowers But You Can Still Apply Now
Created by Congress in 2007, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program grants complete federal student loan cancellation for student loan borrowers who work for a qualified public service or non-proft employer. Private loans, however, are ineligible for this student loan forgiveness. Currently, student loan borrowers must make 120 monthly student loan payments and enroll in an income-driven repayment plan such as IBR, PAYE, REPAYE or ICR. However, in some years, the program has been plagued by a 99% rejection rate. The Biden administration has sought to fix the troubled program by instituting major changes to student loan forgiveness that will provide more student loan forgiveness to borrowers. For example, the U.S. Department of Education, led by Secretary Miguel Cardona, relaxed the requirements for public service loan forgiveness. Among other changes:
- Student loan repayment plans: count student loan payments made under any student loan repayment plan or student loan type
- Student loan consolidation: count student loan payments made prior to student loan consolidation, even if you were on the wrong repayment plan
- Late payments: count student loan payments that were late or were partial student loan payments
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Consider Other Lenders When You Refinance Navient Student Loans
Just because you get an offer in the mail inviting you to NaviRefi doesnt mean you should do it. It may turn out that another lender is able to offer you a lower interest rate, benefits or terms. Shop around for the best refinancing offer so you get the most value.
You can fill out the application that NaviRefi sends you since its just a rate check, not a complete application. You have to accept the terms before its final. Then repeat this process and check your interest rates with other companies to see which one gives you the best offer.
Should I Choose A Variable Or Fixed Rate
What is a variable interest rate?
A variable interest rate is one that can change based on the terms of the loan. For instance, a variable rate may be 3% early in the year but 4% later in the same year. A change in the general economy can cause such a fluctuation. For instance, when mortgage rates increase, the student loan variable rate may also increase. Any loan not locked into a rate can go up or down over time. Federal student loans arent issued with variable rates, but private student loans may or may not be.
What is a fixed interest rate?
Fixed rate student loans keep a constant interest rate. A loan issued with a fixed rate of 3.5% will maintain that annual percentage rate for the life of the loan.
What are the pros and cons of each?
The primary benefit of a fixed rate loan is that your payment amount won’t change. For most people, a fixed interest rate is preferred. It’s easier to budget, and there are no surprises. A variable rate loan is beneficial if the rate is lower and youre planning on paying off the loan in a year or less. In that case, you dont have to worry too much about interest rate increases, which will add to your monthly payment.
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