Many people do not realize it, but no matter what type of student loan you take out, be it a private or federal loan, you will be required to pay it back or face damage to your credit score. This sounds like a no-brainer, but many people are under the impression that they do not need to pay back their student loan. In fact, as of 2005, the federal government actually passed a law to make it easier to come after people for student loans!
There are several advantages to Federal Student Loans, such as periods of no interest when in school and after graduation. Another advantage is that they are much more willing to work with new graduates, so as long as you are paying something and talk to them about it, the Federal Government will likely give you a little breathing room.
Of course the same is true of most private loans too, in that if you call them up and explain your situation, they will likely be happy as long as you are making a payment on the loan. This is one of the easiest ways to avoid getting calls from a collection agency, although many people do not realize that talking with the company is a tool in their armory.
There are, however, several other options available that can help those who are unable to pay their student loans.
Deferred Payment
Many Federal and School Backed loans come with deferred payments built in, which basically means that under certain situations you will, temporarily, not have any monthly payments. The most common way this works is for businesses to provide a grace period after college, where there is no interest and/or no monetary payment.
It is also often possible to talk with the loan company and in certain situations they may be willing to offer deferred payments to graduating students. However, it is important to carefully read any fine print and determine if you will still be racking up interest during this time. Typically unsubsidized student loans will be responsible for interest, while subsidized loans will not during a period of deferred payment.
Qualifying for Forbearance
In some-cases where a deferred payment is not available, there may be an option for forbearance, which is where the loan payments are either restructured or postponed for a short period of time, which should be enough to prevent too much damage to your credit score and keep the recovery agencies from contacting you.
Payment Plans
When Forbearance or deferment is not an option, there is generally still some room for negotiation. However, in these cases the deck is usually stacked in the lenders favor. For example, it is not uncommon for a lender to offer an income-sensitive plan, based on your reported income, or simply extend the length of the loan. In these cases, it is not uncommon to end up paying more in interest, although if the alternative is ruining your credit score, it is not always a bad choice.
There are often a number of options available, so like any type of debt, it is a good idea to talk with your lender before you simply stop making payments on your student loan.
Roger, a writer on financial topics, often spends time reading and learning about monetary topics. For those who own or run a small business, protection on the business's assets is often extremely important. However, no matter what you do, no matter if you are in the utility industry, or that of medical debt recovery, some of your clients will default. This is not something that you can avoid, but will rather need to work around. many turn to a third party collection agency, to help them. These types of companies are geared towards getting the most returns as effectively as possible, so can be a good choice for smaller businesses.
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