1. Module Number 12 Refinancing Student Loans with a Private Lender
Paul S. Garrard
Founder and President, PGPresents, LLC
Independent Student Loan Consulting
Spring 2019
2019 PGPresents, LLC - All Rights Reserved

2. Private refinancing
Trading debt for debt (may include federal and private loans)
The bait is the rate
Generally based on credit, debt-to-income ratio (DTI), employment history
May be risky during residency, even if lender offers token payments during training
Advantages and disadvantages

3. Pros and cons Advantage Disadvantages
Potential substantial savings in total repayment costs when compared with federal loans
Disadvantages
Loss of repayment flexibility inherent with federal loans
Eliminates any possibility of Public Service Loan Forgiveness

4. Should you refinance You may be a candidate if you
Are ready to start active repayment, perhaps aggressively
Don’t need an income plan and are not interested in PSLF**
Are not concerned about postponement
Have strong credit, favorable debt-to-income ratio, solid employment history
* Income Driven Repayment plans ** Public Service Loan Forgiveness

5. Should you refinance You may not be a candidate if you
Need to be cautious with payments
Need payments tied to income
Are interested in forgiveness, especially PSLF*
May need to postpone payments
Are risk averse
* Public Service Loan Forgiveness

6. Questions to ask Interest rates Repayment options
Fixed versus variable
On variable rate loans
Maximum and minimum rates
How often rate is reset
How much notice given
Repayment options
Usually shorter term nets better rate

7. More questions to ask Postponement options
Cosigner requirements and cosigner release
Forgiveness provisions
Death or disability
Not talking about PSLF

8. More questions to ask
Assumptions behind projected amounts you may save that they provide you
Will preliminary application result in hard or soft credit pull

9. Closing comments You cannot undo refinancing
You don’t have to refinance all your loans
Don’t commit to challenging cash flow just to get a low rate
Carefully consider whether token payments are worth it when compared with income payments that might count towards PSLF during training
Private student loan debt not factored into income payments for spouse

10. PGPresents, LLC Independent Student Loan Consulting www.PGPresents.com
END OF MODULE 12
PGPresents, LLC
Independent Student Loan Consulting
2019 PGPresents, LLC - All Rights Reserved