Should I Pay Off My Student Loan? 2008/09 article discussion

Oldernotwiser

argood wrote: »

I tried to send you a PM but the system tells me that you haven't got room for anymore. I'll try again soon.

I've cleared some space.

twinkle-london

I've got a quick question.. from reading the article I thought that if I wanted to apply for a mortgage then it's best to pay off the student loan, as it will affect how much I will be able to borrow.. is this true? I read in an earlier post that in fact, they don't take student loan debt into account.

I'm in my last year of university now, and really hoping to move out as soon as possible, hoping to get a shared ownership mortgage as I will be a keyworker, but unsure what to do about my student loan!

Any advice would be great, thanks

argood

twinkle-london wrote: »

I've got a quick question.. from reading the article I thought that if I wanted to apply for a mortgage then it's best to pay off the student loan, as it will affect how much I will be able to borrow.. is this true? I read in an earlier post that in fact, they don't take student loan debt into account.

I'm in my last year of university now, and really hoping to move out as soon as possible, hoping to get a shared ownership mortgage as I will be a keyworker, but unsure what to do about my student loan!

Any advice would be great, thanks

No, lenders don't currently take your outstanding student loan into account when assessing you for a mortgage.

Your student loan will start to be repaid automatically from the April following your graduation. Your employer should start making automatic deductions when you earn over the threshold which is currently £1250 per month or £15,000 per year. Other than that you don't really need to worry about your loan. As has been said elsewhere it's not really advisable to repay your loan early, rather to save the money as the current student loan interest rate is so low (1.5% until further notice).

Hope this helps.

twinkle-london

Fantastic, thanks argood for the great advice! :T

argood

twinkle-london wrote: »

Fantastic, thanks argood for the great advice! :T

You're more than welcome. Good luck in your last year!

jago25_98

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

nobody's ever going to knock at your door and demand immediate repayment after all and should something depressing happen with your job you just stop paying. It really isn't worth worrying about, unlike other debts.

If someone goes abroad and the SLC don't know, they have, in the past, demanded immediate repayment.

Do I need to pay off a student loan before heading for some time out on a desert island?

argood

jago25_98 wrote: »

If someone goes abroad and the SLC don't know, they have, in the past, demanded immediate repayment.

Do I need to pay off a student loan before heading for some time out on a desert island?

No you don't need to pay off your loan before you go.

If you're going to be earning a wage on your desert island then you need to make SLC aware of this before you go. They'll calculate your monthly repayments based on the wage that you provide and you'll have to stick to that repayment plan (usually by making direct debit payments from your British bank account).

Miss-spent_2

And if you are not going to be working on the desert Island I think you had better tell them any way.


By the way, if you win a large sum e.g lottery or premium bond are you legally obliged to pay off your loan or is it down to your conscience?

argood

Miss-spent wrote: »

And if you are not going to be working on the desert Island I think you had better tell them any way.


By the way, if you win a large sum e.g lottery or premium bond are you legally obliged to pay off your loan or is it down to your conscience?

Absolutely not! You're not obliged to pay off your loan if you receive a lottery win or any other kind of cash prize. If you really wanted to you could pay it off but I'm almost certain you'd be able to find more exciting things to spend your cash on.

Deelighted

Hi Guys I'm hoping thats there is help out there :T
I've scanned the forum and appologise if the answer to my question has been posted but here goes. My loans taken out with Student Loan Company in 1996, 1997 and 1998 were taken over by Honours Student Loans due to some being sold off. I have searched their site and literature and admit I may have missed it, but can any of the members tell me if they follow the same ruling as SLC? That is when I reach 50 in December my loans will be wiped clean? Also I'm also confused to whether its loans upto and including 1998 that are covered in his ruling or will this loan have to run to full term?