A Return to Common Sense
Jan 19th, 2010 by Eryk
During World War II, it was often said of the Marine Corps that “uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Naturally, the Marine Corps itself adapted the phrase to be a little more appropriate: “Common sense is an uncommon virtue.” Sadly, this rings true both within the Marines and in normal life.
My mortgage lender is currently a shining example of a remarkable lack of common sense. Here’s the situation. I’m currently applying for a mortgage. I also have student loans which are in deferment because I’m still attending school. My lender is asking for two things:
- That my student loans be in deferment for at least 12 months.
- That my monthly payment after the deferment period be no more than $250 per month.
The first part is easy. I have six months left of school and then the normal deferment period of six months will make a total of 12 months of deferment. The second part is where I’m getting tripped up. Naturally I intend to consolidate my loans and take a graduated repayment plan. Based on calculators I’ve found on the internet, this will put my student loan payment at $221 per month. However, I’ve called my student loan lenders and they’ve all said the same thing; until I actually do the consolidation, the only thing they can put in writing is what my monthly payment will be for each loan. The minimum payment for each loan is $50 and I have 18 different student loans. That means that on paper it’s going to look like I’ve got a $900 per month student loan bill! Of course, doing the consolidation will automatically put me into repayment, thus losing the 12 months of deferment.
In other words, without the consolidation I have 12 months of deferment but not the monthly payment, yet with the consolidation I’ll have the monthly payment but not the 12 months of deferment. This is insane! I just keep thinking to myself, certainly a little common sense should apply here. Under-writers aren’t robots, are they? Shouldn’t they be able to see the dilemma? Or is the mortgage world so shell-shocked that it’s taking the opposite approach that it took a few years ago and denying people who might be well-qualified?
I’m being told that it’ll work out and there’s nothing to worry about, but until I actually have the keys to the house in my hands, I’m not getting my hopes up.
