Student Loan News – January 24, 2014

Here are the best articles from around the web this week talking about student loans…

For the week ending Friday January 24, 2014

Student Loan News:

1. Borrowers begin to see refinance options for private student loans:

Charter One has joined the few lenders offering refinancing for private student loans.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been leaning on banks to make it easier for students to refinance private student loans, many of which came with low variable rates before a higher rate kicked in.

Consumer advocates contend that while college students tend to graduate with low or nonexistent credit scores, they haven’t been able to get recognition for building better credit records as they begin working and responsibly handling credit cards and loans. Full details: http://www.cleveland.com/consumeraffairs/index.ssf/2014/01/borrowers_begin_to_see_refinan.html

2. Your student loan is tanking the mortgage market:

The percentage of student loans classified as delinquent shot up by 13% in 2013, as other types of credit — auto, credit cards and mortgages — continued to see notable payment improvements, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York claims.

There’s only one conclusion that can be drawn from this – student loans are the new mortgages. Everyone under a certain age seems to have at least one education debt to pay off. And they are more expensive than ever as this debt sector expands to a tally of $1 trillion-plus in outstanding student loans.

With this expansion, comes fewer Americans who are financially stable or qualified enough to buy new or existing homes. But how troubling is the data, really? Input here: http://www.housingwire.com/blogs/1-rewired/post/28668-your-student-loan-is-tanking-the-mortgage-market

3. Why You’ll Be Paying Your Student Loans Forever:

In the Sundance documentary Ivory Tower, Andrew Rossi (who previously directed the New York Times doc Page One) explores how the cost of college is changing the lives of an entire generation — for the worse. College costs have risen by 1,120% since 1978, far outpacing the rise in the cost of food or health care. Once seen as the necessary price of admission to the professional class, college has become, for some young people, a hugely expensive albatross that even death cannot rid them of: Private student loan debt is passed on to survivors.

“That is practically a Dickensian construct in 21st-century America,” Rossi said in an interview on Tuesday in Park City, Utah. Full report: http://www.buzzfeed.com/doree/heres-why-youll-be-paying-your-student-loans-forever

Student Loan Blog Posts:

1. College Senior Hopes To Pay Off Student Loans By Selling Ads On Graduation Cap:

A student at the University of Michigan-Flint looked into the crystal ball and saw visions of student loan debt. But what if he could figure out a way to pay off that pile of debt before he even enters the job market? And so the young man started a campaign to sell advertising space on the top of his graduation cap.

“It’s scary to think I’m about to go out into this economy and try to find a job and have all this debt I’ll have to start paying,” the 22-year-old tells the Detroit Free Press. “I started thinking, ‘Do I have anything available I could sell?’ ” Click this: http://consumerist.com/2014/01/22/college-senior-hopes-to-pay-off-student-loans-by-selling-ads-on-graduation-cap/

2. Parent Student Loans For Kids College – One Mom’s Perspective:

I never was fortunate enough to go to college and I always said my children would have that advantage if I had to work till I died.

Well with multiple children going through college I just may have to do that – working til I die might be the only way to pay for the loans that I took out for their education over the years they were all in college.

I was always told by their father that we had to save for their education; hindsight is always 2020 you know, because the saving we did for the children’s education didn't end up going to their education and instead was lost in a divorce and broken family. Right here: http://www.figuringmoneyout.com/parent-student-loans-for-kids-college-one-moms-perspective/

3. What You May Not Know about Student Loan Debt and Bankruptcy:

Debtors may be under the impression they are unable to get student loan debt discharged. While this may be the case for some, others may qualify to have this debt eliminated but don’t bother asking their attorney about it. When you file you are expected to list debt obligations you have outstanding, including those that are non-dischargeable. Yet, there are those who wait until after their bankruptcy case is completed before reviewing whether their student loan debt can be eliminated.

Even if you don’t plan to file bankruptcy in the immediate future you can review concerns surrounding student loan debt with a qualified bankruptcy attorney. While there are qualifications you need to meet to get the loan eliminated, the type of loan you have can also make a difference in how it is approached in bankruptcy. In some cases you may be able to get your loan fully or partially discharged. View full post: http://allmandlaw.com/student-loans/what-you-may-not-know-about-student-loan-debt-and-bankruptcy