Frequently Asked Questions About Student Loan Refinancing

No. Cosigners are only required if your application doesn’t meet certain minimum requirements like age, creditworthiness, employment, or income.

You can select one of the following loan repayment terms:

• 5-year term
• 10-year term
• 15-year term
• 20-year term (for loan amounts of $25,000 or more)
• 25-year term (for loan amounts of $25,000 or more with variable interest)

Keep in mind that shorter repayment terms often mean lower interest rates and higher monthly payments, which will lower your overall cost of borrowing.

Yes. However, before you refinance federal student loans, make sure you understand the benefits you can lose.

You’ll need to have on hand:

• Contact information
• Home address
• Social Security Number
• Employment information (paystub/proof of income)
• Loan information (loan servicer, interest rate, outstanding balance)

Your cosigner should be a trusted individual who has strong credit, a reliable annual income (at least $36,000), and is a U.S. citizen or has permanent residency status. Your cosigner can be released from the loan after 24 consecutive on-time payments have been made.

Yes, U-fi pulls a hard inquiry that will affect your credit score. Creditors would use a soft inquiry pull to see if you meet their minimum requirements and do not need your permission to view your credit. A hard inquiry on the other hand, requires your permission for creditors to view your report. Hard inquiries are usually pulled if you are actively seeking a loan or an extension, and therefore affecting your credit score.

• For more information on hard vs. soft inquires, reference our article.

Unfortunately, spouses would need to establish a separate payment plan through U-fi.

No, U-fi does not offer grace periods or honor grace periods for refinancing. U-fi operates on an immediate full principal and interest repayment plan. First payment is due 30-45 days after the first loan is issued.

A 60 day admin forbearance will be applied while waiting for the customer to return their application. Subsequent 60 day admin forbearance will be applied if the returned application does not contain all necessary information and needs to be returned to the customer; up to a maximum of 180 day of admin forbearance will be processed. TPD can be determined based on determination by US Department of Veteran Affairs or Social Security Administration (SSA), along with a completed total and permanent disability application, sections 1 and 2.

Upon notification of the death of a borrower or cosigner, U-fi will immediately suspend due diligence and billing to the deceased party. If confirmation is received of the borrower’s death via acceptable proof of death per program guidelines, U-fi will write off the remaining loan balance, effective the date the borrower died. If proof is received that the cosigner is deceased, the cosigner will be removed as a party on the loan and servicing continues for the borrower, as the sole responsible party. If no death certificate is received within 60 days of initial notification, due diligence and billing processes will resume.

You can select one of the following loan repayment terms:

• 5-year term
• 10-year term
• 15-year term
• 20-year term (for loan amounts of $25,000 or more)
• 25-year term (for loan amounts of $75,000 or more with variable rate interest)*

With a shorter repayment term, you may lower your interest rate and will lower your overall cost of borrowing, but you will have higher monthly payments. With a longer repayment term, you will lower your monthly payment amount, but you may have a higher interest rate and will increase your overall cost of borrowing.

No matter which term you choose, you can always make additional payments without penalty. This lets you pay off your loan faster and saves you money.

*Note: Not all repayment terms may be available depending on the borrower's and/or cosigner's credit.

• Qualified borrowers are eligible after they have made 24-consecutive, on-time payments of principal and interest within 15 days of their due date.
• When requesting for the cosigning benefit, borrowers must meet the latest credit underwriting eligibility requirements for an individual borrower.
• If the borrower is denied a cosigner release, he or she will be notified and may reapply at any time.

• U-fi borrowers may receive a lower interest rate on their loan for having a cosigner, which lowers their monthly payment and overall costs.
• It can often be difficult for many students and borrowers to meet the credit and income requirements, so a cosigner can help them get the loans they need.

After a completed application is submitted, the lender will pull a credit bureau report for both the borrower and cosigner, if applicable. The borrower and cosigner’s creditworthiness is assessed based on their credit history and score.

Cosigners are generally only required if a borrower does not meet certain minimum requirements such as age, creditworthiness, employment, or income.

A cosigner is a creditworthy person willing to assume responsibility for loan liabilities if the borrower fails to repay the loan. Applying with a cosigner may help you qualify for a loan and also lower your interest rate. Cosigners must be eligible U.S. citizens or permanent residents.