Debt consolidation is a financial options offered by numerous lenders in hopes of being able to encourage the borrowers to pay back debts. The program makes it easy for the borrower to make the payments and get up to date with the lender. It is also a very valuable tool of lenders and even the government in addressing delinquency and default in debt and loan payments. It helps consumers solve multiple loan problems as well.
The lenders offer the program to be able to close several loans of the borrower to enable them to concentrate on one payment amount every month. It also pays-off the other loans and does not reflect settlement in the credit score. As most people have become aware, settlement damages the credit score by reflecting that the borrower was not able to make the payments and had to settle with the lender to pay off the debt at a reduced amount.
As consumers troop to different lenders to be assessed for debt consolidation, they are hopeful that their application would be approved to be able to do away with the nuances of payment for several types of loans. It can also give them a little more elbow room when the monthly payments goes down to be able to start building up the emergency fund or put more for retirement amount.
Debt consolidation denial
As the consumers sit down and wait for the approved loan amount to consolidate their several loans, new interest rate to be used and the new monthly payment, the loan officer might get back to you with a denied application. There are debt consolidation techniques but at this point, this is tough if you are already counting the ways how debt consolidation will work to your advantage. Some of the most common reasons for this debt consolidation denial are:
Too many loans
The lender might be under the presumption that you are adding on more loans to your existing debt. As soon as they fire up the computer, they will see all your existing financial obligations and might deny your application for the loan. They might be quick to the draw and draw the conclusion that you will not be able to meet all the payments if they approve the loan.
As your objective is debt consolidation, you would need to explain to the lender that the very reason you are taking out the loan is to pay off the other existing loans. It is not to add up to your existing financial payments. If they realize your plan, they just might approve of the loan. Again, this is still not an assurance of approval because some lenders are skeptics and will assume the worst – that you are just trying to squeeze out a loan with no plan of repayment.
This is not always the case but it is a possibility. If the lender would not agree to your plan, you can look for other lenders that would be open to your financial objective. It is not the end of the world if you get rejected by one lender. It is actually an opportunity to do a financial audit and see where you can make some improvement before approaching another lender to talk about debt consolidation.
Too low income
One of the primary things the lenders will look at is your ability to pay. This includes income from employment or income from a business a venture. If you are denied because they conclude that you do not have enough cash inflow to meet the payment requirements, then you can double check your income sources. You might have overlooked one source or forgot to declare income that is coming from an investment.
If your lender still determines that your income is not enough, it would be best to sit down and go over your income and expense budget. There might be something that you need to closely look into like missed payments or missed income. It might be the reason that you are still in debt – you need better money management.
Too risky Credit score
As you approach private lenders to take out a loan to consolidate your debts, another consideration is your credit score. This is especially tough because if there is already financial hardship, chances are your credit score would have already been affected. And the same reason why your credit score is suffering is what you hope to correct with your debt consolidation.
This is a tough call for the lender because the lower your score, the higher your risk, the lower your chances of being approved for the loan. One way lenders would agree to granting you a loan is if you agree to a high interest rate. This is meant to cover their investment risk and be assured of earning enough in the beginning to cover risk of payment default.
These are the most common benchmarks of lenders to assess if you are a good candidate for debt consolidation. If there are any denials on your loan application, look to check these three items and talk to your lender on how to go about your debt consolidation target.
Here is a video on debt consolidation:
Steps after debt consolidation
If you are successful in getting a debt consolidation loan, this is a great start in getting your finances back on track. This could help you make your monthly payments easier, send out lower check amounts for payments and not miss out on any loan or debt payment. But with debt consolidation, here are some things that a borrower would need to look into.
- Pay-off loans. It is important to use the loan meant to consolidate your debt to do exactly just that – debt consolidation. You need to pay off all loans in order to enjoy the benefits of consolidating your debt all in one payment. Investments are a good idea but not for this specific purpose. If the target amount does not pan out, you will be in deeper financial hole. You will be stuck with your original loan payments with the addition of the new loan meant for consolidation.
- Focus on payments. When you start debt consolidation payments, you need to keep at it and try your best not to go into delinquent or default payment status. Debt consolidation is meant to help you get out of debt but if you do not make the payments, you will fail to reap the advantages of making single monthly payments for all your previous loans.
- Extra payments. Using debt consolidation usually carries a long repayment period. One great financial move is to make extra payments to your loan. If the lender will allow it, send it to principal payments. Even Azcentral.com is suggesting thsi move to pay down mortgage loan. This will result into shorter payment term and save you payment in interest in the future. It will also make you feel better that you are lowering down the actual amount of the money you borrowed rather than the interest.
Debt consolidation is a great financial option for people trying to streamline monthly payments. This is usually more advantageous for consumers that are able to meet at least all the minimum payments on all the debt and loan payments. It guarantees one monthly payment ensuring that the borrower is able to manage payments monthly and not miss out on any financial obligation.