Rates on federally sponsored college loans are scheduled to increase Saturday, and consolidating existing loans will become less advantageous then. -Many borrowers can get discounts such as a quarter-point reduction in the interest rate for paying by automatic debit and another one-point reduction in the rate after they make 36 on-time payments. On a $30,000 consolidation loan, that would save an additional $6,000 over 20 years.
-Some families might find it cheaper to borrow money by taking out a second mortgage or home-equity credit line, or to lower the payment by extending an existing loan.
-To learn more about federal student loans, see the Department of Education's Web site at .gov. For details on consolidation loans, see Sallie Mae's Web site at www.smartloan.com.
In a move to expand its menu of fixed-rate products, second-mortgage lender DeepGreen Financial recently launched a 30-year home equity loan.
The Cleveland-based company began offering the new loan last month in response to the increasing demand for fixed-rate second mortgages instead of adjustable-rate home equity lines of credit, said Sy Naqvi, chief executive of the online lender.
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