Atlanta Debt Consolidation Loan (Reader Question)

May 7th, 2009

Atlanta Debt Consolidation Loan

I have bad credit and I cant afford all my payments on my debts. How do I go about getting a debt consolidation loan?

K.C., Atlanta

If you find yourself in a tight financial spot and feel the need to consolidate credit card debt and/or other debt that you have, there’s a lot you can do. Even if you have bad credit or no credit, options are available to you online if you know where to look. You can find companies in Atlanta that will give you a debt consolidation loan to help you get your debt and your monthly payments under control.

As with most online offerings, though, the search for your ideal “Atlanta debt consolidation loan” can feel overwhelming, so here’s a quick overview of what you can expect to find, as well as what will be required of you in each case.

A debt consolidation loan is the same as any other loan when it comes to the basic requirements, which means that first of all you’ll have to qualify for the loan. Namely, if you’re looking for a secured debt consolidation loan, you have to own a house. In this case your debt consolidation loan will be an equity loan, meaning that you’ll be using the the equity you currently have in your home as a collateral for the financing that you need.

If you don’t own a house, then you’ll have to qualify for an unsecured debt consolidation loan. Typically, those are harder to qualify for, because they allow you to consolidate your debt and get one (lower) monthly payment, without that debt being tied to any asset you own. The interest rates on unsecured debt consolidation loans are usually higher than on their secured counterparts, to reflect the added risk for the lender.

There’s yet another debt consolidation option available. It’s not a loan, but it’s worth mentioning since it falls into the debt relief category. There are companies that will help you manage your debt and get your payments to more affordable levels without you getting a loan. In exchange for a fee, they negotiate with your creditors on your behalf to settle your debts and lower your interest rates. You make one payment to them, and they take care of the rest.

There have been numerous stories in the media about customers who feel like they have not been getting their money’s worth with these services, so you need to exercise caution and do your homework before you sign up with one of these companies. At the same time, there are also people who have achieved good results by using these services. It all boils down to staying on top of what’s going on, because no one will care about your money more than you.

So you need to be careful when choosing a debt consolidation company to negotiate your debt with your creditors. You definitely need to make sure that they are legitimate debt consolidation companies that have been around for some time, are registered with the Better Business Bureau, and have few complaints filed against them. If there are complaints, look into them to see how/if they have been resolved.

If you do it right, debt consolidation can help you tremendously when it comes to freeing up cash in order to not only pay your debt, but also stay current on other bills. This is important because, when debt starts piling up, it’s easy to fall behind because all the other bills still have to be paid. Debt consolidation provides a way to pay down the debt and still keep up with other essentials like a roof over your head and food on the table, just to name those two. Good luck!