Problems of A Debt Consolidation Loan

Problems of A Debt Consolidation Loan

There are several good things about joining together your debts into a single debt consolidation loan. Even the term ‘consolidation’ is reassuring for many of us. It invokes the thought of getting rid of a lot of little in addition to not so little problems and amalgamating them into a single workable problem. 

Rather than having a great number of lenders to work with, the debtor can have just a single financial institution to manage and just a single monthly repayment to make in contrast to having to make numerous payments to a number of creditors for various sums. As a result the debtor thinks that taking care of financial circumstances might be simplified. Another significant expectation is that the debtor’s credit ranking can recover significantly once all personal debts particularly credit card obligations are lumped into the consolidation. All of the old credit card accounts gets paid off completely. To crown it all, the regular monthly monthly payment on the loan consolidation will with any luck , be noticeably lower than the entire amount of the payments on all of the previous debts – credit cards, overdrafts and personal loans.
Well, that is the theory anyhow. The first thing to understand is the reason why monthly payments go down at all. It is not really the benevolence or generosity of the new consolidation loan provider which prompts this reduction. There are often several factors at play. One factor is that the term of the consolidation loan may be (much) longer than the terms of the original loans. For example, had the debtor continued financing each of the old loans (instead of lumping them all into a consolidation loan), then he or she might well have paid some of them off rather quickly and others over a longer period of time. A second factor is that the lender of the consolidation loan may seek to secure the advance on the debtor’s property, often the family home. If this is the case,

 the lender has significantly reduced the lending risk that the debtor will default on payments since the lender may ultimately rely on the equity in the property to satisfy the debt if necessary. Lower monthly repayments are usually based on one or both of these factors. While the interest rate on the proposed consolidation loan may be lower that the rate the debtor is currently paying on some accounts at present, the total amount repayable over the full term of the consolidation loan could be considerably greater that the total now payable under the old loans.
Let’s check out what can not work out by taking out a loan consolidation. Should you be finding it hard in making your repayments at the present time you will need to be sure that you can without difficulty make the debt consolidation loan repayments in a sustainable manner and for the full time of the expected term. It is advisable to stop making use of the credit lines that you have been utilizing. For instance, you’ll want to chop up your credit cards since the banks may, now that you have settled the account balances, lure you to carry on using the same credit cards that got you into difficulties in the beginning. You will also need to stop utilizing any overdraft facilities which contributed to your financial challenges in the first place. Since most of your disposable income will need to go to pay back the loan consolidation you will have to restrict your usage of other credit even if your ‘old’ lenders might want to do further business with you and make all kinds of ‘attractive’ loan proposals to you. You’ll want to ignore such proposals, if you wish to avoid struggling financially ever again.
An additional drawback is that when you have agreed to secure the consolidation loan on your residence and find that you are not able to maintain the repayments, you could potentially lose your house. Although you might achieve a low interest rate on the loan consolidation by agreeing to secure it on your property, the likely lengthier duration of the debt consolidation loan will mean that you give up some freedom with regards to your home finance loan e.g. you will not be mortgage-free as soon as you expected to be and you may be unable to stop working as early as you had targeted to do.

Therefore, do reflect long and hard before you decide to plump for debt consolidation loans. Take into account other choices that may be right for your circumstances. For instance you ought to investigate whether you may be insolvent. If you happen to be insolvent, a couple of the alternatives you might need to give consideration to are either to enter into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) or to petition for your own Bankruptcy (BCY). These are two personal insolvency procedures that shield you from your lenders and that also are supported by the full weight of the law behind them. Even if you are not insolvent, you might like to give consideration to going into a Debt Management Plan (DMP) with your creditors. You can do this yourself by getting agreement with every one of your lenders one by one concerning how you will pay the balance of your debts to them. This is sometimes called a self administered DMP. Most DMPs however are carried out with the assistance of providers which specialise in creating DMPs between clients and their lenders and which then manage these plans during a period of years. Whatever you consider, do take advice. Refrain from consolidation until you know about and have looked at all other remedies.
Looking for reliable debt advice ? Get inside information on how and where to find the best now in our complete guide to everything you need to know about debt consolidation .