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Useful Information About Student Loan Default
Some graduates fail to repay because adequate employment isn’t found after leaving school and causes student loan default. Others may have different financial circumstances that could hinder repayment, but there are naïve students who just ignore their obligation and do not fully understand the consequences of default.
DEFERMENT BEFORE DEFAULT
Before defaulting on a loan, deferment, also referred to as “economic hardship” is an option. Loan deferment is postponement of repayment. A borrower must request deferment from the lending institution that issued the loan.
Economic Hardship is only one of several kids on loan deferment, and it is available in one year increments if the student is able to prove through documentation that he or she has had a previous hardship deferment, is on federal or state assistance, or is in the Peace Corps.
If a borrower is attending school, is unemployed, or is in the military then he or she can also qualify for other types of deferment. This is a way to remain in good standing with your loan institution.
DELINQUENCY
Loans go into delinquency when students fail to send in payments on time and this can result in default, but delinquency is a kind of warning. For every one student that defaults, a minimum of two will enter delinquency. Delinquent loans are far more common than defaulted ones. They are not as serious as defaults; to but can nevertheless, result in future ramifications like the inability to obtain mortgage credit.
There are various repayment options available to borrowers, however most do not search for help until delinquency or default has already occurred. Contacting the lender before these issues arise is the best solution to avoid the consequences that come along with failure to repay borrowed funds.
The lenders will send notices by email or traditional mail throughout the period of nonpayment before default occurs, as well as when the loan is declared to be defaulted.
ABOUT STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT
A borrower is required to repay all loans, regardless of whether that person graduated from college or not. When obtaining a student loan, the borrower is required to sign a promissory note, which binds him or her to the terms of the loan agreement and by signing it, the student agrees to repay the funds in full.
Many students want to repay their obligations, but may be finding it difficult obtaining adequate employment after graduation, and this would be the best time to defer the loan, before default sets in.
Once the loan has defaulted, a person can begin enduring serious consequences. Most student loan defaults take place when the borrower withdraws from the college or university and ceases to return and work toward fulfillment of a degree.
Student loans are not able to be discharged through bankruptcy in most cases. After defaulting on your loan, there is the option of making a hardship petition. These hardship petitions have requirements that can be very difficult to fulfill. To meet hardship requirements, a student must be able to show that he or she has made a good faith effort to repay the loan, but if it has already defaulted then this can be hard to prove considering student loan defaults occur after almost one full year of nonpayment.
A person pursing a hardship petition must show that he or she will not be able to meet even the lowest standard of living and still be able to make lowest acceptable payments toward the debt. The person must be able to show that this circumstance will likely be upon him or her for the remainder of the loan repayment period. This could be the hardest evidence to prove, with the exception of persons who have had injuries or serious medical problems, or are homeless. If you are able to satisfy the conditions of the hardship petition, most times only a portion of the loan debt is forgiven.
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEFAULT?
Once your loan has been declared to be in default, you are no longer able to defer it and you are no longer eligible to get any further financial aid until the full amount has been repaid. Once default sets in, the repayment period agreed upon in the original promissory note is then forfeited. The full amount is then due back to the lender.
The lending institution will turn over your case to a collection agency and you may then be responsible for any collection costs tacked onto your loan by the collectors. The debt can significantly grow due to collection costs.
If you are employed, an Administrative Wage Garnishment can be placed on you pay, and the employer will then send 15% of your wages toward repayment of the loan.
Your federal or state tax refund or both may be offset by the Department of Treasury. If this happens, you may not be immediately notified until after you have filed your taxes and are waiting for the refund. You may, then, receive a letter informing you of the allocation of the refund or refunds to satisfy your outstanding student loan debt.
Legal action can be taken against you and your credit suffer will definitely suffer tremendously. Persons with defaulted student loans do not qualify for HUD or VA loans and will not be accepted to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
WHAT CAN I DO TO PAY MY DEFAULTED LOAN?
The U.S. Department of Education’s guaranty agencies are all required to accept reasonable and regular monthly payments that are affordable to you. After six full moths of regular repayment, a student may be able to return to school with financial assistance.
The FFEL loan consolidation program or the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program is two programs that help with repayment of defaulted loans, and there is also a loan rehabilitation program for help with repaying your loans.
Defaulted Student Loan
A defaulted student loan will put you in a complicated situation. You will likely have to repay the loan and your credit will be ruined.
When your student loan goes into default, your account is turned over to collection agencies and various collection procedures begin. In addition, the government can garnish your social security benefits, your wages, and more.
According to a law that Congress created called the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you only have a negative mark on your credit report for a maximum of seven years. Although, these debts can be collected upon for life!
If you have a defaulted student loan on your report you are likely to have to pay interest rates of roughly 25% and place large down payments, just to be approved. More often than not you will be turned away for a new line of credit.
You should dispute the collection marks on your report. There is hope you can remove this mark from your report and, with some luck, you may be able to remove the debt entirely.
A dispute letter should be sent to each bureau containing a reason as to why the mark is not correct. Examples may be the account is paid in full, the mark has already been reported for seven years, not my account, and so forth.
This is the most difficult item to negotiate on a credit report and thus we suggest that you should hire a credit repair service to dispute it on your behalf. The benefit is you will have a licensed attorney fighting for you and there are continuously new laws passed by congress to help protect consumers.
We feel hiring an expert is worth the money since your credit score impacts every aspect of your life. This is a good idea since, compared to the high cost of a low credit score, hiring an expert can be done at very reasonable rates.
Please be aware that a private loan, such as one with Sallie Mae, will be difficult to remove but easier than a federal loan. A loan from the government, such as a Stafford loan or the Perkins loan, will be much harder to remove from your report.
When the bureaus receive your dispute letter they will contact the creator of the negative mark and ask them to verify the debt. They will verify that the account is yours, the dates are correct, and the balance of the account.
If the account can not be verified then the negative mark must be removed from your credit report. This is due to the Fair Credit Reporting Act saying that any unverifiable mark on your credit report must be removed.
It is estimated that 1 in every 4 people have an error on the report that is costing them money in higher interest rates. The bureaus and lenders make errors all the time, but your credit is the one that will suffer. If this mark is in error, be sure to send any documentation that you have with your dispute letter to prove it is in error.
In closing, if you have a defaulted student loan on your credit report, it does not mean you will have a low credit score for the rest of your life. Defaulted student loans are removed from credit reports every day. To do this, we suggest you dispute this mark with the credit bureaus.