Quick Tips About Bill Consolidation

Knowing how bill consolidation works can save you thousands or tens of thousands of dollars during a refinance.

Bill Consolidation Basics

The basic principle behind bill consolidation is using the equity in a property to pay off higher interest debt.

The savings come in several forms:

• lower overall interest rates
• mortgage interest payments may be tax deductible
• fewer monthly bills

Bill Consolidation In Practice

Often times when a lender does a refinance they may insist that some or all of your outstanding consumer credit lines be paid off. They can instruct the escrow agent to pay off the creditors directly as part of your refinance. When this is done you have less control over your money.

The lender may insist as part of the refinance that more than just late or credit card balances be paid off. They may choose to have your auto loans or student loans paid off.

Make sure you know somewhere during the refinance mortgage process if the lender will insist on some debts being paid off. You don't want to be surprised at the last minute that you will be getting a lot less money directly than you anticipated from your refinance. People usually don't refinance so they can pay off their student loans. They either want the money directly and/or to pay off high interest credit card debt.

Collection Items

Items that are in collection are something most lenders will want to pay off. These amounts can be large or small. Some of these items that are in collection may be errors on your credit report. You will want to check your credit report before the process. If you don't, you may end up paying off old debts that you co-signed on.

Some lenders will cap the amount of collections they pay, which may be to your advantage.