Times are hard for many Americans, with interest rates going up, sky high gas prices, and overall inflation, so it’s not surprising that many families find themselves in financial difficulty that’s frightening enough to cause them to seek professional help.

When faced with mounting financial obligations, it’s easy to fall prey to any number of the advertisements you see on television, in magazines and newspapers, on the radio, in your email box, or on the Internet, promising to either eliminate your debt altogether–or to “consolidate” your debt. In this article, we’re going to look at how the debt consolidation process works.

It’s a tempting thing to have a company take all your bills, roll them into one package, and then have you pay them off with one lump monthly payment, often less than the combined total of your individual bills. But let’s look at what’s really involved. The pitch is that debt consolidation companies will reduce your monthly payment on what’s known in the industry as UNSECURED DEBT, which includes credit cards, utilities, or anything else you bought that wasn’t secured by a piece of property that could be foreclosed upon by the lender. Your home mortgage, on the other hand, is a secured debt, which is the key to how debt consolidation companies function.

When you contact a debt consolidation company, the first thing you’ll find yourself doing is answering a number of questions concerning your home–how much equity you have, your monthly payments, how long you’ve been in the home, and other things. Since your home mortgage can (and often is) the largest monthly payment you have, you might be lulled into thinking that they’re merely asking in order to add your house payment into your monthly debt total.

However, there’s something potentially ominous behind those seemingly innocent questions. The company is asking questions about what’s generally the most valuable asset of a family–their home. Why? Because their plan is to combine all your unsecured debt and turning it into SECURED debt–by tying it to your home.

There are several potential dangers involved in that. First, if you find that you can’t make the new, lower payments in the future, you’ll find yourself not only continuing to have bad credit (which is something that you could ultimately live with, even as difficult as it would be). But you could actually find yourself losing your HOME, as well–a situation that could be life-threatening!

But debt consolidation companies say they can lower your monthly payments by a significant amount, and that’s why you sought their help, right? Well, your must understand that the debt consolidation company won’t lower either your overall debt load or interest rates. What they’ll do is extend the life of your loans by transferring them from short-term (1-3 years) into long-term loans, which can take as long as 30 YEARS to pay off. You may lower your monthly payment, but you’ll be paying up to THREE TIMES as much for those things you owe money on–for DECADES to come!

So, regardless of how much debt you’re faced with, be smart, and before you sign with a debt consolidation company, ask them EXACTLY how they plan to help you, how long it will take to pay off your debt, and what they’ll get out of it, since they’re in business to make money, just like every other company in the world.

Copyright ? Jeanette J. Fisher.

So, debt consolidation is something of interest lately, as you’ve been overwhelmed with multiple debts and making timely monthly payments. You’re considering shopping around for just that right company to consolidate your debt which is a wise choice. But, before you do such things, it’s important to be scrupulous and take care when selecting a debt consolidation company using absolute caution. This though is not saying debt consolidation companies are run poorly or with ill-intentions, but there are ways to weed out the bad from the good, separate which companies will prove more helpful and which ones will become more of a headache.

Single Loan Status With A Good Company

Consolidating loans and debt into one unified loan is a great financial step to take. But this initial step needs to be taken with a watchful eye and steadied foot. This is so simply because of the wide range of quality offered through various debt consolidation companies. Some can be extremely helpful and others more so attempting to scam you. Yet, you shouldn’t worry, because there are ways to avoid bad companies and embrace upright ones instead.

Read the following list below for tips and further information on choosing the right debt consolidation company:
The differences between non-profit and profit debt consolidation companies are apparent, yet don’t assume that non-profit options will be more interested in looking out for you more. Non-profit debt consolidation companies can prove overt too, taking advantage of indebted individuals just as much as profit-driven companies. Reputation is everything nowadays, especially with financial companies. It’s best to go with a company or association well-trusted and established. Even locally, through a close-to-home bank, could be a great first step option simply because smaller-run banks typically provide loans and make great money once their borrowers pay them back. Larger companies on the other hand get paid through sheer sign up procedures and could be less likely to cater your position in the long run. Beware balloon loans, as they can pop right in your face at the close of their length. These type of loans offer you to pay tiny amounts monthly, for say, 6-10 years roughly. Yet, at the end of the term, you are held responsible to pay off the debt completely, and in full. Little progress is made through this venture. Do research and do some math. Consult the BBB or Better Business Bureau for optimal debt consolidation companies. Research their histories and current statuses. Also, crunch some numbers and surmise various options through different companies. See where you stand in terms of what you’ll be paying, how much you’ll be able to pay and how long it will take you to pay. Be sure to know and understand in full the differences between fixed rate loans and variable rate loans. For instance, variable rate loans provide you with a lower rate initially, yet after a few years transpire, they’re likely to rise. Also, be sure you’re aware of starting payment values and how they will change in upcoming months and/or years.

Take the above few bits of information into mind and it’s likely you’ll be able to avoid companies with a ‘make some money and run’ policy and pinpoint debt consolidation companies looking to truly help you organize debt and pay it off fully.

Repaying numerous loans and facing the hassles of creditors proves to be tedious after some time. So if you can’t face all this, it is better to seek the help of a debt consolidation company. A debt consolidation company replaces all your loans with a single debt consolidation loan. You only have to pay the debt consolidation the monthly payments; the company then pays all the creditors. You then don’t have to handle the creditors or face their bickering.

There are basically two types of debt consolidation loans; secured and unsecured. In the secured loan, you have to pledge collateral for the loan. If you fail to repay the loan, this collateral is seized by the company. In the case of the unsecured loan, there is no need of any collateral being pledged. However, the amount that can be borrowed here is lower, with a higher interest rate.

Christian debt consolidation companies and regular debt consolidation companies basically provide the same facilities. The difference lies in their beliefs. The Christian debt consolidation company ensures their fellow Christians that it is Biblical to take advantage of any program that is run by a Christian debt consolidation company. Christians generally feel it’s wrong to fall into debt. Some say that it is not permissible for a Christian to owe money even for auto and home loans. However, there are others who feel that it is okay to sustain some form of debt, as long as the item the loan is taken for has potential worth appreciating.

Christian debt counseling companies say that it is allowed to be in debt if the loan was taken to produce an income or if the value of the item equals or exceeds the amount borrowed. Christian debt counseling companies say that we have to pay back whatever is borrowed. They quote from the scriptures that “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously” (Psalm 37:21).

Christian debt consolidation companies feel that living life is increasingly more difficult with increasing debt. So they are committed in helping people gain control of their finances and to become debt free. It is due to all these thinking that the christian debtor generally feels that they cannot deal with a regular debt counseling company, but are comfortable with a christian debt consolidation company. Christian debt consolidation companies claim to let people refinance their debt at lower interest rates; sometimes even zero interest.

However, whichever debt consolidation company you choose, it is better to do some background check on the company. Find out how long the company has been around, and if there is no information, then there is no need of approaching the company. The best way of finding more information on the companies is by checking with the local Better Business Bureau, state Attorney General and the consumer protection agency. You can also find out from the Attorney General if a license is required to run a debt consolidation service, and if the debt consolidation company has a license. However, never be fooled of any company claiming of being not for profit; no one works without profit.

When you find yourself in serious debt and realize that you are in over your head, the most important thing that you can do is to work with a debt consolidation agency to work out the best possible debt settlement that you can. A debt settlement is a way to satisfy your creditors by paying a pre-negotiated lower payment which they agree to accept as full payment for your debt.

The first thing you should do when negotiating a debt consolidation settlement is to ask that the interest being charged on your account be waived or greatly reduced. This is important because if you don’t get your creditors to agree to this up front they will continue to charge interest and late fees and instead of your payments going towards reducing your debt, it will go to interest and late payments and your debt itself will hardly be touched.

Next you will want to roll all your credit card accounts into one account with one monthly payment. If you are rolling all the balances onto one card, be sure to roll them onto the card that carries the lowest interest rate. It is important when you do this to NOT use the credit cards anymore.

As you pay off each of your creditors, you will be able to use the money you have set aside to make that payment and pay an additional amount on another debt. In doing this you can pay off each creditor one by one.

Even if you have bad credit you can still consolidate your debts. It can be a shock to find out that you can’t get the credit you need to even take out a debt consolidation loan. This of course results from not paying your bills on time in the first place. If you find yourself in this situation you will want to contact a debt consolidation company to help you negotiate reduced payments to each of your creditors.

Once you are on a debt consolidation plan and your creditors realize that you are serious about reducing your debt and paying off your bills, your credit rating will get better and better. However, at this point you should not go out and get more loans or credit cards or you may find yourself in the exact same predicament as you just got yourself out of! This would definitely defeat the purpose.

A debt consolidation company aids you in your quest to attain economic liberty. It may or may not give you bad credit debt consolidation loan but assist you with other services like offering debt consolidation counselling and debt management services etc. As each company can have some exclusive proposals for you, you may require a lot of insight to select the right one. It can be quite a challenging task to find a proficient debt consolidation company, which has competent interest rates and flexible payment options.

Features of a Good Consolidation Firm

Once, you have decided that you are going to take the services of a debt consolidation company, you must be careful in selecting the same. You will have a choice of choosing between a regular offline debt consolidation company and an online one. Choose a company with a good standing and specially take care of its repute in making timely payment to the creditors. In addition, try to compare the fee of a few debt consolidation companies and pick the one, you can pay for. You can also find a non-profitable debt consolidation company.

Ensure that the best debt consolidation program, you have opted for, includes all your debts and none of your debts are left out. This guarantees resourceful control over your debts. The best debt consolidation program is the one that can be custom-made for your specific requirements. Then, it will offer you true respite.

Caution for Going Online

Besides looking for these qualities in a debt consolidation company, extra care is required, if you are selecting an online debt consolidation organization. Be practical and learn how honest their business practices are; what their existing and previous customers have to say about them and what kind of records they hold at the Better Business Bureau. If an online firm gives its real address on the site, it is more likely to be genuine. You can visit their office and validate the claims made by them on the site.

In many cases, you will have to borrow a bad credit debt consolidation loan in order to pay back your current debts. Bad credit debt consolidation loan can also be of various types. To help you select the one, that is most suitable to you, you will be given credit counseling. Once you detail these counselors about your income, expenditure and debts, they will estimate your accurate financial situation and suggest a best debt consolidation program.