DRB Resident Refinance

[shantster]

What have people's experiences been with DRB? I went through the process of applying for a refinance starting in December and finally received the conditional approval email yesterday. They are advertising 5 year loan rates of fixed from 3.5 to 5.0% and for variable from 1.9 to 4.02% for residents, both on the website and the information they sent me yesterday. Despite a credit score of 792, they offered me 5-year rates of 5.30% fixed and 4.22% variable, both of which are above their advertised range. Has anyone else had this problem with them? It seems like false advertising to provide a rate above the advertised range.

I emailed them for clarification of the rate. I'm completing fellowship in June 2017 so I'm debating between holding off on refinancing now vs refinance the loans now and then look into another refinance after I start my attending position. Is there any downside to doing the double refinance?

[The White Coat Investor]

That's the resident rate basically (i.e. high end of the range.) Also notice that rates have risen in the last month with the Fed. Read more here about the rates residents/fellows should expect from DRB/Link Capital: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/student-loan-management-issues/

 

Also, their current maximum 5 year fixed rate on the site here: https://student.drbank.com/rates/ is 5.25%. Are you including the discount for autopay from a DRB account or is it 5.3% AFTER that? If so, I guess I'd call that false advertising, even if it is only 5 basis points worth.

[docnews]

I got 4.25% with direct deposit payment from their bank account for a 5 year repayment 3rd year EM resident. I think the loan amount still matters (mine is only about $140k) no matter what your credit score. I was hoping for lower but it still beats 6.8% plus having to deal the quasi governmental companies that continually messed up my extra payments. This new product of resident refinancing has little but growing competition, so I think at this point it is a take it or leave it proposition.

[shantster]

White Coat Investor wrote:

That’s the resident rate basically (i.e. high end of the range.) Also notice that rates have risen in the last month with the Fed. Read more here about the rates residents/fellows should expect from DRB/Link Capital: https://www.whitecoatinvestor.com/student-loan-management-issues/

 

Also, their current maximum 5 year fixed rate on the site here: https://student.drbank.com/rates/ is 5.25%. Are you including the discount for autopay from a DRB account or is it 5.3% AFTER that? If so, I guess I’d call that false advertising, even if it is only 5 basis points worth.

Click to expand...

Looking at it more, I did not take into account the 0.25% discount if I sign up for their checking account, which is buried in the fine print of the brochure they sent me. The fixed rate is still 5.05%, which is above the advertised rates. I'll see if they budge on it at all given the difference in their rate and the information they sent.

 

Thanks for that link to the post. Somehow I missed that one. I'm disappointed with the number of people that had extended delays in getting the loans funded. I hope that is more the exception than the rule.

 

docnews wrote:

I got 4.25% with direct deposit payment from their bank account for a 5 year repayment 3rd year EM resident. I think the loan amount still matters (mine is only about $140k) no matter what your credit score. I was hoping for lower but it still beats 6.8% plus having to deal the quasi governmental companies that continually messed up my extra payments. This new product of resident refinancing has little but growing competition, so I think at this point it is a take it or leave it proposition.

Click to expand...

My amount is less than yours so I'm not sure how much the total matters. I agree it's better than dealing with the 6.8% federal loans. I'll probably go with it now since it will save a decent amount of money over the next year and a half. I should be in the position to pay it off in roughly 2 years after fellowship but will probably look into another refinance a month after I start an attending job. It doesn't cost anything to refinance other than time, which might be worth it if I can get the rate lower again.

[arnee05]

Did anyone apply both with and without a co-signer? If so, was there a significant difference in rates offered?  I am awaiting an offer from them without a co-signer - I have excellent credit but loads of debt and am still in residency.

[aparsons3]

I applied beginning 3rd year IM residency using co-signer. 180k debt. Refinanced at 4.25% fixed. This was about 6 months ago. Rates are higher now. Could have gone 3.9 variable but took the safe route. The difference between 4.25 and 6.8 is still quite significant.

[ndayev6]

arnee05 wrote:

Did anyone apply both with and without a co-signer? If so, was there a significant difference in rates offered? I am awaiting an offer from them without a co-signer – I have excellent credit but loads of debt and am still in residency.

Click to expand...

Applied without co-signer. Last year (1st year fellowship) with ~165,000 student debt. Was given 5-year fixed at 3.5%. Website is still not too user friendly and the process took a while but I am grateful for their services. Received 300 dollars for going through WCI website.

[shantster]

aparsons3 and ndayev6 - How long did it take to get the final paperwork after accepting terms? I've been waiting since the end of January and keep being told "sorry for the delay" and "there is a high volume of loan requests."

[ndayev6]

shantster wrote:

aparsons3 and ndayev6 – How long did it take to get the final paperwork after accepting terms? I’ve been waiting since the end of January and keep being told “sorry for the delay” and “there is a high volume of loan requests.”

Click to expand...

I think the whole process took me around 4-6 weeks. I was persistent with them and I did have to call back several times. A couple times they stated that they were waiting for more documents and I directed them to the documents that I had already submitted. I suspect that they underestimated the volume of applications that they would receive and are understaffed. It is worth the wait.