Refinance Student Loans with Bad Credit Latest Update

Refinance student loans with bad credit: Getting a loan isn’t the problem, the real problem is paying the company you got the money from. in this article, I’ll be showing you how to refinance a student loan with bad credit

Refinance Student Loans with Bad Credit

Refinance Student Loans Overview

You typically need good to excellent credit to qualify for student loan refinancing, which means it might be difficult to get approved if you have bad credit.

However, there isn’t a standard credit score required to refinance your student loans. Each lender sets its own standards, including minimum score requirements.

Some lenders don’t disclose a minimum credit score because they want potential borrowers to consider other approval (or denial) factors other than their score. Your desired loan amount, income, and repayment history are also factors.

Why Your Credit Score Matter

In simple language, Credit is borrowed money, generally from a bank or another financial institution, used to purchase something or get a service when you need it.

You also have the choice of checking with a credit union. That money is paid back to that organization over a predetermined amount of time, usually with interest charges attached.

Whether you have good or bad credit is generally determined by how well you repay debts, the amount of debt you take on, and the amount of debt you have compared to your income. Bad credit can make refinancing student loans nearly impossible.

If you are still eligible, bad credit can make refinancing a more expensive option. When lenders perform credit checks, they often look at many different financial variables to determine if someone is creditworthy.

If you have federal student loans, your credit wasn’t as important when you first received financial aid. Now that you are older and further along in life, lenders view your financial status as the main criterion for approving someone for refinancing.

Factors that Determine Your Creditworthiness

Credit Score

Five factors are determinants of your credit score: payment history (35 percent), credit utilization (30 percent), length of credit history (15 percent), new credit (10 percent), and credit mix (10 percent).

The FICO score scale ranges from low credit score minimums like 300 to the top tier credit rating of 850. Most lenders consider any score under 550 as bad credit.

Anything above that gives you a chance to have the credit score needed to refinance student loans. Your credit score is the main criteria lenders look at when approving refinancing an unsecured or secured loan as well as setting terms and interest rates.

Employment

Where you are employed and how much you earn can factor into whether you are eligible for student loan refinancing when you have bad credit. Lenders want to make sure that you can make your student loan payments on time. A higher-paying career is going to look better to lenders.

Debt-to-Income Ratio

The debt-to-income Ratio (DTI) is exactly what it sounds like. Your DTI is calculated by adding up your monthly expenses, such as credit card debt, student loan debt, and car payments, as well as your expected monthly mortgage payment, and then dividing that number by your gross monthly income.

For example, if you have $15,000 in monthly income and $6,000 in monthly expenses from debt, then your debt-to-income ratio is 40%. Having a lower DTI will help you get better interest rates when refinancing student loans.

What Does Bad Credit or No Credit Look Like?

Refinance Student Loans with Bad Credit

In order to improve your credit, you need to understand what caused you to have bad credit in the first place. One of the main reasons people end up with bad credit is because they take on too much debt or more debt than they are able to afford.

Because payment history is the largest factor in determining credit scores, late payments or missed payments have an enormous effect on how lenders view you as a potential borrower.

Perhaps you graduated with a large amount of student loan debt, but your career path hasn’t led to the high-paying job you expected to have.

Maybe you don’t have any credit at all. If you’ve never signed up and been approved for a credit card, don’t have car payments, and have never rented an apartment or had a mortgage, you really don’t have much established credit other than your student loan debt.

Lenders like to see that you have borrowed money and have consistently paid it back on time. Working to improve your credit should be one of your goals, regardless if you end up refinancing student loan debt or not.

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Can You Refinance Student Loans With Bad Credit?

When comparing student loan refinancing with bad credit to an income-based repayment option, which one is right for you will depend largely on what type of student loans you have.

If you have private student loans, refinancing is your best option in almost any scenario. With a refinancing, you will have your best chance at a lower interest rate, which can potentially save you thousands in interest charges over the life of your student loans.

If you are consolidating federal student loans with bad credit, REPAYE could be a better option for you. REPAYE is an income-based repayment program offered by the government.

With REPAYE, you are eligible for student loan forgiveness after 25 years, and it also subsidizes student loan interest for some participants (those with Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Direct GradPLUS loans, and direct consolidation loans except Parent Plus loans).

REPAYE allows you to have lower monthly payments, with your monthly payment being 10% of your income over 150% of the poverty line. That means if you earn less than 150% of the poverty line, your payment is zero dollars.

Remember that if you pursue student loan refinancing, your loans become private, and you are ineligible for loan forgiveness and federal IBR plans.

Can You Consolidate Federal Student Loans With Bad Credit?

If you have bad credit, another option is student loan consolidation. Although consolidating your student loans won’t save you money in interest charges, it will make it easier to manage your student loan debt since you will only be making one monthly payment.

If you have federal loans, you should choose a direct consolidation loan backed by the U.S. Department of Education. With a direct consolidation loan, you will receive a fixed interest rate that is a weighted average of all the loans you are consolidating (rounded up to the nearest ⅛ of a percent).

The nice part of this consolidation is that there is no credit check, so having bad credit isn’t an issue. It’s possible that your monthly payments will be lowered as well. With direct consolidation loans, you are potentially eligible for some IDR plans.

Refinance Student Loans with Bad Credit

Lenders that Refinance Student Loans

Most lenders have strict eligibility requirements for borrowers that make it near impossible for someone with bad credit to refinance student loans. Most likely, you will either get rejected, end up with a very high interest rate, or be required to get a cosigner with excellent credit.

A high interest rate isn’t ideal, but remember that you can always apply to refinance again down the road after you have improved your credit, which should lead to a better rate. Some lenders offer a cosigner release after a specified number of on-time payments in a row.

There are a few lenders that offer options for people with bad credit. Student Loan Planner has secured bonuses available to our readers from these lenders, so If you click on the bonus links and refinance through them, you can earn a bonus.

Earnest

One of the most consumer-friendly lenders around is Earnest. Although they have a minimum credit score requirement of 650, Earnest is a good option for people with bad credit because they have no set income requirements.

Earnest also doesn’t charge origination fees, application fees, or prepayment fees. You also must have a consistent income or a signed job offer for employment starting within six months.

Earnest also has unemployment protection. One thing Earnest doesn’t offer is the option to become a consignor. Earnest is not available in every state, so check their website to confirm if you are eligible.

Not only is Earnest a great option to refinance if you have bad credit, but you can also receive a $300 cashback bonus using the Student Loan Planner’s bonus link.

LendKey

Another good refinancing option for people with bad credit is LendKey. LendKey only requires a minimum credit score of 660 and an income of $24,000 (or $12,000 with a cosigner). LendKey does not charge origination fees, application fees, or prepayment fees. They offer unemployment protection.

LendKey does require that you have graduated with at least an associate’s degree in order to be eligible to refinance student loans. LendKey does allow cosigners and also offers cosigner release. Use our bonus link to receive a $300 cashback bonus for refinancing through LendKey.

Credible

Another refinancing lender for people with bad credit is Credible. Credible is different from other lenders in that it’s more of a third-party online loan marketplace.

You simply fill out a form on Credible’s website, and they send you estimates from multiple lenders that use their platform. Credible doesn’t necessarily have a minimum credit score or income requirements because they represent multiple lenders.

Credible is a great option for people with bad credit. They often find refinancing options for people who’ve been turned away by other lenders. Apply through our Credible bonus link, and you can receive a bonus of up to $1,000 in cashback.

Refinance Student Loans with Bad Credit

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What If You’ve Declared Bankruptcy?

Are you still eligible to refinance student loan debt if you’ve declared bankruptcy? The answer is yes. However, you will have to wait and work yourself back into better financial standing to qualify.

For example, with Earnest, you can qualify for refinancing if you don’t have accounts recently in collections. You also have to wait until after the bankruptcy comes off your credit report.

What if You Didn’t graduate?

Maybe you didn’t finish school, whether you planned to go back and finish or not. Can you refinance your student loan debt? Yes, you can with some lenders, but is it the best idea? If you left school early and have student loan debt. The first step is to make sure your loans aren’t in default.

You want to avoid defaulting on your student loans at all costs, so make sure you know your repayment options.

Often, people who leave school turn to forbearance and deferment to avoid having to pay back their loans immediately. They don’t realize that the interest still grows on their account, so their situation really isn’t improving.

A better option is to look to change the repayment options if possible. If you have federal student loan debt, your best option is to look into an income-driven repayment program.

Let this resource be your guide as you aim to refinance your way out of a bad credit score. Do well to share with your friends and loved ones. Good luck!

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