refinancing student loans more than once?

[jsmoove123]

I'm about to get my first attending level job in a few months, and my resident spouse will make a similar upgrade a year later. Can we refinance (e.g. with SOFI) once after my income bump and again after my spouse's income bump? Are there any costs involved in doing this twice vs just once? Is it better to do it twice instead of once?

Thanks!

[DMFA]

Yep. You should be able to re-re-refinance. Shouldn't cost anything. Might not even have to change lenders since SoFi likes to stay competitive.

It's nowhere near as consuming as a mortgage refinance...

[Dru]

I just re-refinanced with SoFi. It was 2.5 years since the first time. No fees, no hoops. They again offered me the best rates and fastest turnaround time. And you can get the WCI referral bonus each time too! Not sure how frequently you can actually do it.

[Craigy]

I refinanced my wife's loans with DRB a couple of years ago into a variable rate loan.  Just refi'd the refi into a fixed rate with Earnest.  Once she becomes and attending I plan to refi once more back to the lowest variable rate loan we can get.

Earnest actually encourages you to refi once your income goes up but I haven't put that to the test.  I will definitely try to keep it with Earnest but will also definitely shop it around.

[saildawg]

Thanks for this timely thread.

Wanted to get an opinion, my wife graduated with $227,659 worth of student loans after medical school. We refinanced with DRB @ 3.5%,fixed and 22 months later we are down to $86,000. Our goal is to pay it off by July 2018.

I was curious what bonuses and rates are going on now. With sofi I could get $300 bonus and get a lower rate 3.375% fixed or 2.57% variable.  I know they would do a hard pull, which I dont like, but we already have a mortgage and dont envision needing a loan anytime soon and both have excellent credit. Is this too much effort for $500, is it worth a hard pull?  I just dont like knowing I could be saving a little more with a little bit of effort.

Thanks

[Zaphod]

I refinanced like 4 times in 2015-2016, getting a better rate and 300$ each time.

[saildawg]

How much effort was it?  Did it effect your credit?

[Craigy]

saildawg wrote:

Thanks for this timely thread.

Wanted to get an opinion, my wife graduated with $227,659 worth of student loans after medical school. We refinanced with DRB @ 3.5%,fixed and 22 months later we are down to $86,000. Our goal is to pay it off by July 2018.

I was curious what bonuses and rates are going on now. With sofi I could get $300 bonus and get a lower rate 3.375% fixed or 2.57% variable.  I know they would do a hard pull, which I dont like, but we already have a mortgage and dont envision needing a loan anytime soon and both have excellent credit. Is this too much effort for $500, is it worth a hard pull?  I just dont like knowing I could be saving a little more with a little bit of effort.

Thanks

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A hard pull is no big deal.

If you're constantly applying for credit over and over, yeah it's going to hurt you, but a hard pull on the occasion you get a new student loan or refi your mortgage is not going to kill your credit.

[lilsnappa]

Has anyone refinanced to a longer term?

My wife & I have been paying down her loans since right after med school. We refi'd $130k to a 5 yr term through SOFI @3.5%, and we're now under $90k in her second year of residency. We'd like to start stashing some cash for a down payment on a house in a couple years, so we've been thinking about moving it to a 10 yr term. I know it will probably be a higher rate, but are there other cons?

 

 

[saildawg]

lilsnappa wrote:

Has anyone refinanced to a longer term?

My wife & I have been paying down her loans since right after med school. We refi’d $130k to a 5 yr term through SOFI @3.5%, and we’re now under $90k in her second year of residency. We’d like to start stashing some cash for a down payment on a house in a couple years, so we’ve been thinking about moving it to a 10 yr term. I know it will probably be a higher rate, but are there other cons?

 

 

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I would consider all your options.  You may be able to take advantage of physician mortgage, negating the need for 20%, allowing you to continue to pay off student loans faster.  You would be trading student loand debt @ 3.5% for mortgage debt (likely will be less than 3.5%).  Mortgage debt is preferable because it is tax deductable, and used for paying off a historically appreciating asset.  Student loan debt gives you zero benefits, so I would look to get ride of it ASAP.  One caveat with the physician mortgage is that you dont want to borrow more just because you can.  It also may be a better idea to rent for a few years to continue to pay down student loan debt while savign up for a traditional 20% down payment.  This would at least give you time to make sure your wife likes her job.  You will loose money if you have to sell and move less than 5 years after buying.

[lilsnappa]

saildawg wrote:

You would be trading student loand debt @ 3.5% for mortgage debt (likely will be less than 3.5%).  Mortgage debt is preferable because it is tax deductable, and used for paying off a historically appreciating asset.  Student loan debt gives you zero benefits, so I would look to get ride of it ASAP.

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This is the type of insight I come to this sight for. Much appreciated!