Question:
Dear Steve,
Student loans, two carriers and both in garnishment taking 25% of my check is killing me, but they will not allow me to consolidate.
I read your article about student loan rehab. Mine are in garnishment, I have applied and been approved to consolidate with SOFI and one other but the two carriers will not release my loans. State they are getting their money and aren’t required to release them.
Aprille
Answer:
Dear Aprille,
These sure sound like federal student loans. I can’t imagine why they would release them since they are getting their money easily with an administrative wage garnishment. Besides, why would you want to convert these flexible federal loans with various repayment options into an inflexible private loan? You might have a sound financial reason but I’d love to hear it. Please post any response in the comments below.
You already seem to know what to do, rehab them, get them out of default, consolidate them in a new Direct Loan and elect an income driven repayment plan.
With the options of income driven repayment plans there is never a good reason to let federal student loans become delinquent. However, in the case of private student loans a strategic default can sometimes make sense.
