Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Help needed with Loan to cover large student debt
Hi everyone! I'm new to these boards after just getting married and getting off of the knot....
My husband and I currently own our home (no mortgage and no payments). However I do have a significant (~ $155,00) in student debt. We're new to loans and finances so we could use some advice. We'd like to take out a loan of some kind to pay off my student debt (the interest rate currently on the student loan is ridiculously high). We were also hoping to take out a little extra (~$20,000) to put in an inground pool.
We're very open to any advice anyone may have for us on which kinds of loans to look into or any tips you all may have...
THANKS!!! 
Re: Help needed with Loan to cover large student debt
I am not the most educated but I think you will be VERY hard pressed to find anyone that will give you such a large unsecured loan. And unsecured loans normally have very high interest rates. So even if you could it probably wouldn't be beneficial because the interest rate wouldn't be any better. I would look into consolidating your loans. If you can do that, it will probably lower your payments and then you can put the additional cash in savings to pay for the pool.
I would also post this on Money matters. Any chance you'd be eligible for loan forgiveness at all for public service?
I think what you are asking is you want to take cash out of your home to pay off student loans?
If that is the case, do you have the equity in your home to even do this?
Save the 20K for a pool - then have one installed.
Your 155K education hopefully provides you with a good income.
I would not use the house as a mean to repay SL debt. Consolidate if you can. In a case of hardship you could lose your house, where SL debt can be deferred.
You have no mortgage payment - add what you would otherwise pay for rent/mortgage to your normal SL payment and pay it off sooner.
Ditto OPs. Don't get a HELOC to pay off SL debt. High interest rates are the norm for SLs these days. Just take what you would have put towards the mortgage and put it towards the SLs. Use the SL calculators to inspire you.
I had $160K when I graduated, after 3 years and lots of extra payments on my high interest laons (6%+) I'm down to $100K.
GL!
These are exactly the reasons why you shouldn't do this. Either save $20k for a pool (which honestly sounds pretty cheap for an inground pool) and pay extra on your SL's. You don't have a mortgage so you should be able to throw a good chunk at the SL's.
Also, as someone who has put in two inground pools in previous homes and will in my new home once it is finished being built ... it will cost you more than 20K for even a small pool (unless you have family/friend connections). Generally 25-30K for even the smallest/basic pool + if you don't have a fence depending on your covenants/yard size that can be another few thousand to 20K or higher for the 6ft fence surrounding yard. Then you have increased electric bills and maintenance cost.
Pay off your debt and save for your luxuries.
We should have decent equity in our home since we owe nothing on it.
Also, I do make a good income and can easily make monthly payments...but the pool company does not finance and thus we need to get financing somewhere else.
In addition, yes 20K would be cheap for a pool. The pool we're looking at is actually 50K and we have 30K to put towards it (hence needing an extra 20K) and that still leaves us with a large amount in the bank for emergency, every day life, taxes, etc
Then keep saving until you have $50K for the pool.
Financing a pool is a terrible financial idea. Let me say that again, really clearly: do not even dream of borrowing money to put in a pool, especially with $150k+ in SLs. If you want a pool, save up the cash to put it in and THEN do it. But you're probably better off paying off the SLs and putting a pool on the back burner. Nobody needs a pool, and those are some big SLs.
As far as the SLs, I'm no stranger to student debt on that order. You won't get a personal loan with a better rate. If any of them are federal, you could try a federal consolidation loan.
Agree with the above. DH and I actually more that that in SLs, if you can believe it. We've consolidated with Federal Direct Loan at a time when interest rates were very low (about 3%). Despite our low interest rate, I still do not like being in more debt with car financing, mortgages, etc. I would NOT borrow money for a pool. I would wait until I've accumulated the 50K needed. What's the big rush for a pool anyway?
This, and if any of your student loans are private, you will be able to consolidate them into a Federal Direct Loan between Jan and June this year. There are also reasonable payment options for student loans. When my loans come out of deferment, I'll be on the Income Based Payment plan. Hopefully I'll be working as a public librarian soon, so I'll take advantage of the Public Service Loan forgiveness program and have what I owe forgiven after ten years of payments. If not though, I'll have whatever I owe forgiven after 20 years, and honestly, I will have barely started paying on the interest at that point. If you're making a really good salary though, and you're going to have to pay every cent you owe, then just start paying more on your principle.