CommonBond Review: The Unbiased Guide to their Refinance Loans
At the heart of the service provided by CommonBond is their student loan refinancing packages, which allow students to consolidate existing student loans and replace them with one, much cheaper loan.
The potential benefits of refinancing student loans include the smaller monthly payments, the ease of managing one single consolidated loan rather than many separate loans, releasing a co-signer from their obligations to a student loan and, key to the way that CommonBond operates, switching to a lender that really cares about its customers.
The company’s loan refinancing options offer students very competitive rates, a choice of variable, fixed or hybrid interest rates, and a very simple online application system. On average, students can save over $24,000, by replacing existing loans with one lower interest rate CommonBond loan refinance.
This is part of what has made the company so appealing to anyone struggling with mountains of student debt. And it’s one of the reason they get positive reviews from many of their users.
Checking to see whether they can work for you is easy. You can do it all online and without any obligation or annoying sales pitches.
How CommonBond Refinance Loans Work
As mentioned earlier, they have 3 types of loans to choose from. The best one for you depends on your situation and how much risk you’re willing to accept. Here’s a breakdown of all three…
- Variable rate loans can wind up saving you the most money. But they aren’t as predictable as a fixed rate loan because the interest rate on these loans can fluctuate higher or lower depending on how the market is going. Rates can start as low as 2.56% APR. So if you ok with the volatility of the markets, then this might be the loan for you.
- Fixed rate loans have interest that stays the same for the entire duration of the loan. The APR never changes so you know what to expect and you don’t have to worry about what the market is doing. These rates start at 3.37% APR.
- Hybrid rate loans are a combination of the two types listed above. You can only get these with a 10-year loan term. For the first 5 years, the rate is fixed. And for the last 5 years the rate changes depending on the market. This makes them riskier than a fixed rate option. These loans start with a 3.80 interest rate.
The one you choose depends on your risk tolerance. If you want to know what you’ll be paying every month for the life of the loan, then a fixed rate is the way to go. On the other hand, if you’re willing to allow the markets to set the rates for your loan, you could end up with lower rates than a fixed-rate loan gives you.
Related: The best student loan consolidation companies
Parent PLUS Loan Refinancing Review
CommonBond offers a similar service for the refinancing of Parent PLUS Loans. Just like the student loan refinancing, refinancing a Student PLUS loan can reduce the monthly repayments, reduce the total cost of the loan, and make managing the loan a lot easier.
In addition, they provide a plan that allows parents to transfer a Parent PUS loan to their child. Loan rates and terms are the same for this option as they are for the regular refinancing.
And applying is just as easy as applying for all their programs. There’s no cumbersome application process with them compared to a traditional bank or lender.
Regular Student Loans
The company can also be a student’s financial partner on their educational journey, with MBA student loans, graduate and undergraduate loans, all offered at low interest rates and with a choice of fixed or variable interest rates.
Who is CommonBond?
Founded in November 2012, CommonBond is a marketplace lender that was born out of the frustration that three MBA students felt about the student lending industry.
David Klein, Mike Taormina, and Jessup Shean used their own personal experience of being burdened with student loans to create a lending organization that could not only save students money on their student loans, but also cut through the frustrating, jargon-filled quagmire of lending, and streamline the whole process.
Today, the company is one of the leading providers of student finance, and they now provide a full range of student orientated financial products.
They are still driven, though, by the fundamental principles that lending should be simple and fair, and that customers are not merely loan prospects; they are people.
See also: Lendkey student loan review
More than just student loans
With CommonBond, it’s about more than just low interest rates and high levels of customer service; it’s about attitude. For an example of this, you only have to look at the lender’s CommonBridge program, which allows borrowers who find themselves in financial difficulties postpone payments while they get back on their feet. They also make a social promise that no other lender does. For every loan that is taken out with them, they provide the funding for the education of one child in need.
They aren’t just a lender; its’s a community
CommonBond provides networking opportunities for their members through events such as panel discussions with entrepreneurs, dinner evenings, and other company sponsored events. It’s all a part of the idea of being a partner, rather than just a lender.
They talk a lot about shaking up the student loan market, and they could be right. After all, how many other student lenders can say that their customers would want to go out to dinner with them?