Sofi Reviews Student Loan Refinancing
Sofi Reviews Student Loan Refinancing
Sofi has become one of the leading names in student loan refinancing, but not all lenders are created equal. When it comes to finding a good rate and terms for your new loan, you’ll want to shop around. Here’s what you need to know about refinancing your student loans:
Sofi Reviews Student Loan Refinancing
Sofi offers a student loan refinance program, which is a great option for anyone who wants to lower their monthly payments or consolidate multiple loans into one. Sofi is not a government agency; it’s a private lender that offers an alternative to federal loans and other kinds of financial assistance.
The thing that sets Sofi apart from other lenders is its range of loan options—you can choose between fixed rate loans and variable rate ones, depending on what you’re comfortable with, as well as fixed repayment terms and adjustable options. There are also several different types of student loans available: traditional private student loans (with no cosigner), parent PLUS refinances (for parents helping out their kids), graduate school funding options (for future students).
The great pleasure of student loans is that you don’t have to start paying them back until months after graduation. And, depending on the type of loan you took out, the government might subsidize your interest payments while you’re in school. But eventually, you have to start making payments. And after a few years of increasing interest rates and minimum payments that barely make a dent in your debt, it can be tempting to consider refinancing your student loans. Refinancing means taking out a new loan with a lower interest rate and using that money to pay off your existing loans. The new loan carrier then assumes responsibility for collecting your monthly payment.
Refinancing is a smart option if you want to take advantage of lower interest rates or change the terms of your repayment from fixed rate to variable (or vice versa). You can refinance all or part of your student loan debt.
The great pleasure of student loans is that you don’t have to start paying them back until months after graduation. And, depending on the type of loan you took out, the government might subsidize your interest payments while you’re in school. But eventually, you have to start making payments. And after a few years of increasing interest rates and minimum payments that barely make a dent in your debt, it can be tempting to consider refinancing your student loans.
If you want to take advantage of lower interest rates or change the terms of your repayment from fixed rate to variable (or vice versa), refinancing is a good option. But before you refinance all or part of your student loan debt, consider these tips:
If you want to take advantage of lower interest rates or change the terms of your repayment from fixed rate to variable (or vice versa), refinancing is a good option. But before you refinance all or part of your student loan debt, consider these tips:
- Don’t refinance loans that are already at a low interest rate. If you have an existing federal or private student loan with an interest rate below 5% and no prepayment penalties, it may make sense to keep this loan in place and pay it off as quickly as possible.
- Consider keeping one federal student loan in its current form if it has a low balance. If there’s one Federal Direct PLUS Loans (PLUS) with a $5,000 balance on it — and the other PLUS loans have higher balances — consider keeping the lower-balance loan intact instead of refinancing them all into new private consolidation loans at 6%. The repayment periods will be longer for those higher-balance loans anyway; so even though their monthly payments will decrease slightly after refinancing, they’ll still end up costing more overall because they’ll take longer for you to pay off entirely due to their higher APRs
1. Shop Around
If you’re interested in refinancing, it’s important to shop around. There are many student loan refinance companies out there, and the one that’s right for you will depend on a number of factors including your credit score, debt-to-income ratio and current interest rate. It’s also wise to consider how much time you have left on your loans before they’re paid off; if they aren’t paid off in full after 15 years or so, it may not be worth it to refinance them at all.
If you find a company with lower rates than the ones offered by your current lender, don’t automatically assume that the new ones are better. Some lenders offer more attractive terms (for example: lower origination fees) while others may offer more flexible repayment schedules or even help with lowering monthly payments—all of which can make refinancing an attractive option regardless of whether or not there is any significant cost savings involved.
- Consider the Cost
The cost of refinancing is a big factor in deciding whether or not to refinance your student loans. You don’t want to end up paying more for less! The cost will depend on what type of loan program you choose and how much you want to borrow. Generally speaking, if you have good credit, then it could be worth checking out private lenders first before going with a federal program like Income-Based Repayment (IBR).