Oak Park Real Estate & Estate Planning Blog

Are any private student loans less risky for consumers than others? Many Chicago residents know that it is extremely difficult to discharge student loans by filing for personal bankruptcy , and private student loans are not eligible for the federal income-based repayment programs. According to an article in Inside Higher Ed , a couple of months ago Amazon.com announced a partnership with Wells Fargo to become a new lender of private student loans through which Amazon Prime Students members would “be eligible for a 0.5 percentage point reduction on their interest rate for private student loans taken out through Wells Fargo Education Financial Services.” But does such a reduction really amount to much in the long run? And what are the continuing limitations of private student loans as the national student loan debt continues to rise? As we will explain, concerns about the partnership ultimately resulted in Amazon.com and Wells Fargo deciding against the private student loan...

Recent news stories have highlighted the serious problem in our country of student loan debt. Student loans are linked to a new consumer debt crisis across America. By and large, those reports tend to focus on private student loans, for which borrowers are not eligible for income-based repayment plans and often run out of deferment or other hardship options when attempting to make payments. And as many of us know, it is difficult although not entirely impossible to have your student loan debt discharged when you file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. However, private students loans are not the only problem. According to a recent article in the Huffington Post , the federal student loan debt burden in our country is beginning to eerily mirror the subprime mortgage crisis. High Interest Rates, Overwhelming Debt How could student loans resemble subprime mortgages? On the surface, the two types of loans should not look alike at all. However, when we look at data on lower income borro...