It is very tempting to hire a “professional” to help you get a debt consolidation loan. In most cases that’s not necessary. You can go to the bank yourself, and bring proof of your income and a list of your debts, and qualify for a loan without any help.

Debt and credit consultants often promise to help you deal with your debts, and even pay off your debts for only a few cents on the dollar. They will offer a debt settlement program, which they will tell you is better than a debt consolidation loan, to repay your debts faster.

It sounds like a good deal, but often debt consultants are scams, and they are not a good alternative to a debt consolidation loan.

They will charge a large fee, up front, and then they accumulate money until they have enough to propose a settlement. Unfortunately that can take many months, or even years, before they have enough to make a settlement. While you are waiting for the settlement to happen the creditors will still be calling you, and they may even sue you.

You have options, including a debt consolidation loan, a Chapter 13 Wage Earner Plan, and a consumer proposal. You can even file bankruptcy in Canada, or Chapter 7 Bankruptcy in the USA. Consult an expert today and review your options.

A debt consolidation loan is a great way to reduce your costs of borrowing. If you can arrange a line of credit or loan at the bank at a low interest rate, and use that money to repay your high interest credit cards, a debt consolidation loan is a great way to save on the interest you are paying, and help you get out of debt faster.

In most cases the cheapest possible interest rate is on a secured loan, such as a mortgage. The bank or mortgage lender knows that if you don’t pay they can take your house. They are “secured”, so they have less risk, so they are willing to give you a cheaper interest rate.

That’s why many people arrange for a mortgage debt consolidation loan or a home equity debt consolidation loan to repay lower their cost of borrowing.

Beware! By getting a secured loan, you have now put a charge against your house. If you don’t make your loan payments, you will lose your house! A secured loan is a great way to reduce your interest costs, but only get a secured loan if you are absolutely certain that you will be able to make all required payments.

In today’s difficult economy, it is harder than ever to qualify for a debt consolidation loan.  To get a loan you must have sufficient income, and perhaps collateral.  In many cases the lender will also ask you to have a co-signer.

A co-signer is someone with good credit who guarantees your loan.  If you don’t pay the loan, your co-signer is liable.  That means if you don’t pay, the co-signer is on the hook!

If a bank or other lender asks you to get a co-signer as a condition of giving you the loan, what should you do?  Should you ask a friend or a family member to co-sign for you?  If you lose your job and can’t repay the loan, and if the co-signer has to pay, how much damage will you do to your co-signer?  In most cases it is not worth losing a friend by asking them to co-sign your loan.  In most cases it is not worth putting your parents’ financial future at risk by asking them to co-sign your debt consolidation loan.

If you can’t qualify for the loan without a co-signer, your best option may be to say no to the loan.  Look for other alternatives, such as credit counseling, a Chapter 13 Wage Earner Plan (for Americans) or a consumer proposal (for Canadians).  If you can’t qualify for a debt consolidation loan without a co-signer, you should be looking for other alternatives.  Don’t drag someone else down with you.

There is no guarantee that you will qualify for a Debt Consolidation Loan. If you own a house with equity, you will probably qualify at your bank for a secured line of credit or second mortgage, or you can refinance your mortgage to consolidate your debts with a Mortgage Debt Consolidation. However, if you don’t own a house, or if your house has no equity, you may not qualify.

If you are rejected for a loan, here are the steps you should take:

1. Ask the bank why you were declined.  It may be that you are close to qualifying, so if you can reduce your debt or increase your income you may be able to re-apply again in six months or a year.
2. If your bank won’t give you a mortgage, consider talking to a mortgage broker.  They have access to many different lenders, so they may be able to get you a mortgage even when the bank says “no”.
3. Consider asking a friend or family member to co-sign for you.

WARNING: If a friend or family member agrees to co-sign for you, they are now fully responsible for your loan.  If you don’t make the payments, the bank can now pursue your co-signer for payment. You should only ask a friend or family member to co-sign on your behalf if you are absolutely certain that you can make all of the payments.  If you are afraid that you may at some point miss a payment, do not get a co-signer.WARNING: Each time you apply for a loan and are rejected, a note appears on your credit report showing that you were rejected.  Your credit score goes down each time you are rejected for a loan. If you are rejected, ask the bank why you were rejected.  If you can take action to qualify in the future (perhaps by increasing your income, or paying off some of your old debts) then wait until you have fixed the problems before applying again.  A series of rejections will make it even harder to borrow in the future.

I was surprised when I read the following: “South Carolina Man Burdened by $213,000 in Debt Discovers Astonishing ‘Military Strategy’ Secret that Made Him Debt Free in 4 Years!”

After some research, I discovered the following story, presented for you here:

My name is Clint Holland and the first thing you should know about me is I am not a credit expert or some kind of financial egghead. I’m just an ordinary, average guy that ended up deep in $213,000 of debt and found a 100% guaranteed and proven way to get out faster than any method currently taught. Plus, it works regardless of where you live and is not dependent upon your income.

Not long ago … I was scared I was going to lose one of my cars or my home. Things were tight and times were tough money wise. The pressure was eating away at my health and it took its toll on my family.

I was convinced I had to do something to get this monkey off our back. As you can imagine … I was buying all sorts of books and courses that promised me a way to get out of debt, but most of it was junk or stuff that was too hard to do. Some of it was good. Anyways, I ended up stumbling upon a ridiculously simple technique one day that came from a military strategy concept – and so I tried it on my mountain of debt.

Guess what? It worked! I know this sounds crazy, but with your permission I’ll prove it’s 100% true. It’s so true that I became free from that terrible $213,000 mountain of debt in just 5 years! And let me tell you, life is good now. No more creditors calling me or mailing me nasty letters to pay my bills.

Plus, I have more spending money to do what I want, when I want. And you know what? I didn’t go out and get a second job or increase my income to do it. I didn’t even get a loan or any other such nonsense you’re commonly told to do. And yet, my system is guaranteed to make you 100% debt free faster than anything on the market. That includes your mortgage, credit card, automobiles – whatever! What’s more … it will start to dramatically improve your credit in 90 days or less!

• It’s NOT filing for bankruptcy
• It’s NOT trying to sneak out of paying your bills
• It’s NOT about living on macaroni and cheese for the next 5 years
• It’s NOT about investment schemes or advice
• It’s NOT about increasing your income
• It’s NOT hard – anyone can do this
• It’s NOT anything illegal or immoral

This debt consolidation loans information blog doesn’t have the space to give more details, so  Click Here to Become Debt Free; your new life awaits!

The Debt Consolidation Loans Information website exists to give free, unbiased advice on debt consolidation loans. We don’t sell debt consolidation loans. We want you to research your debt consolidation loan options, and pick the option that’s right for you.

Unfortunately there are many debt consolidation loan mistakes that people make time and again. If you can learn to avoid these debt consolidation mistakes, you debt consolidation loan will be a positive experience.

Over the next month we are going to discuss the most common debt consolidation loan mistakes, so check back often more information, and check out our article on Debt Consolidation Loan Mistakes for full details.