Debts

[the Deel Rover]

Saw a thing on T.v about consolidated loans.This chap (might have been Martin Lewis) was saying only ever consolidate credit cards, loans, store cards onto a homeowner loan as a last resort.
The gist of it was that cards etc are unsecured so if it all goes pear shaped the worst that can happen is that you and the lender go to court , you get a judgement against you and you have to come to some arrangement with your creditor.Secure the loan and the bast***s can have your house.
his rule was never ever secure an unsecured debt.Seemed to make a lot of sense.

also it might be grand in the short term freeing up some of your cash by just paying 1 loan,  however you would be repaying these debts over 25 to 30 years therefore paying a lot more interest in the longterm

[pintsofguinness]

Lads be aware of some of the pitfalls.

1. Most , if not all balance transfers will charge you fee. Usually around 2-3%. It is not free.

2. Some of the cards that offer 0% on the card have restrictions. eg. if you transfer £1000 at 0% however use your card for any other purchases ( bag of crisps ) the total amount is now eligable for interest  £1000. 50 @ 17% ( or whatever it is).

Best solution overall is a consolidated loan.

Martin Lewis has great up to date advice on whats available in the market. 

www.moneysavingexpert.com

Yup 2%-3% to transfer but that's a one off and I'm paying that every month anyway.

I think the general rule with doing a Transfer to another card is that you don't use that card for purchases (though there are a lot which offer x months interest on purchases too).

Personally I wouldn't entertain a loan, with a loan you have to keep up the payments, if your debt is sitting on an interest free CC you can skip a month here and there if something else comes up, you can pay as much or as little you want.  I'd hope to have mine clear in 6 months or so so I wouldn't even think about a loan.

[Tyrones own]

if your debt is sitting on an interest free CC you can skip a month here and there if something else comes up,

Absolutely untrue Pints, read the small print and you'll find that if you miss a payment, your zero % card becomes anywhere
from 18 to 28% without warning, missing a payment is exactly what they want you to do, bring you back to where you started
or most likely worse off because of the transfer fee and the higher interest rate.


And i also couldn't agree more with the aforementioned, be very very careful with debt consolidation, if hard times come knocking
and you can't make payments, they will absolutely take the house if thats what you secure it with.
Read the fine print very carefully before signing anything.

[gawa316]

if your debt is sitting on an interest free CC you can skip a month here and there if something else comes up,

Absolutely untrue Pints, read the small print and you'll find that if you miss a payment, your zero % card becomes anywhere
from 18 to 28% without warning, missing a payment is exactly what they want you to do, bring you back to where you started
or most likely worse off because of the one time transfer fee.

Yeah I got myself into the same bother after missing a payment. Eventuallly when my mortgage was up for renewal I borrowed more on it and paid off all my cc's. Best thing I ever done. Probably moving to the states in a few years and cause the house has went up in value (dispite the recent slump) I'll still make a tidy profit, that should set us up fro moving

[mannix]

With the way the dollar is now would be a good time to sell the house and rent a place till you are leaving, thats assuming the dollar will return someday.

[pintsofguinness]

Absolutely untrue Pints, read the small print and you'll find that if you miss a payment, your zero % card becomes anywhere
from 18 to 28% without warning, missing a payment is exactly what they want you to do, bring you back to where you started
or most likely worse off because of the transfer fee and the higher interest rate.

Aw I know you've to pay the minimum payment alright but say you're paying off chunks of the debt every month, whatever you can afford, and suddenly something comes up you can cut back if you wish. 

[Donagh]

Lads is it possible to do a transfer with zero balance? Have a card there with nothing on it but got a letter to say the initial offer is up and it's moving to 20%. Should I now apply for a different one  (and still receive useless statements from the 20% one) or can I just apply for a balance transfer, which presumably cancels the 20% one for me?

[Maguire01]

Lads is it possible to do a transfer with zero balance? Have a card there with nothing on it but got a letter to say the initial offer is up and it's moving to 20%. Should I now apply for a different one  (and still receive useless statements from the 20% one) or can I just apply for a balance transfer, which presumably cancels the 20% one for me?

Eh?  So you have a card with nothing on it? Nothing to transfer?  Just cancel it and get a new one.

[Tyrones own]

No you can't transfer a zero balance Donagh, I wouldn't necessarily cancel the card though, call them and ask them to lower the rate
or you going to apply for a different card, 9 times out of 10 they will give you a middle of the road comparable rate depending on
how long you've had the card along with your history of payments to them.
It's better for your credit score to keep that account open rather than closing it.

[Donagh]

It's better for your credit score to keep that account open rather than closing it.

Well that's what I was thinking. Cheers T