Consolidation loan conundrum

I had a consult scheduled with a potential client recently who did not make it in. No worries, I just reached out to her to see if she wanted to reschedule. She declined because she had initiated a consolidation loan process to pull together all her outstanding unsecured debts under one, lower interest rate. She was getting this consolidation loan by refinancing her house and using up any equity in the house to secure the loan. I still offered to meet with her – for free even though I likely would see no business result from the meeting. I did not want to talk her out of this plan; I simply wanted to make sure she had full knowledge of all the ramifications. This is because I know people who have done this successfully and avoided bankruptcy. I have known others who did this and it ended up putting their home at risk.

Essentially, a consolidation loan like the own my potential client was wrangling does not reduce debt principal. It usually does reduce interest costs over the lifetime but, to be sure of this, one must factor in the closing costs and fees associated with an equity loan secured by your house. What does happen is that unsecured debt gets converted into secured debt. Secured loans offer lower interest rates because the risk of total loss on the loan is mitigated by the value of the property securing the loan. In other words, if you do not pay they take your house.

A bankruptcy, whether Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, shreds off most or all unsecured debt. So, in a bankruptcy situation, unsecured debt is good debt to have because you will not have it long. Secured debt does not pass away so quietly. You can sever the personal obligation to repay the debt, but there are only very narrow avenues by which the secured obligation – the liability on the property – can be done away with. An equity line on a house can only be completely discharged in a Chapter 13 IF there is absolutely zero equity to which the loan actually adheres.

So, if my potential client does follow through with this secured consolidation loan, then she has closed off the possibility of shedding that debt unless she sheds the house as well. This may be a great strategy. She may have enough income that is reliable enough to make that extra house payment and still meet her living expenses. I just want her to know that doing so commits her to that one way out of debt and to make that decision with as full knowledge as she can get. And, if it works out, I am glad for her. If it does not work out, well – perhaps I can still help her save the home with a Chapter 13.