That maybe true for balance transfers, but at least the first one is for a
cash advance and those, especially for this sum of money, are rarely for
nothing.

The better thing would be co-sign a loan and her out when she has trouble
making the payments.


"SD" <siddharthgdalal[at]COLDmail.com> wrote in message
news:cifev4$qt5$1[at]murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU...
- quote -

- quote -

Actually most of my cards have no balance transfer fees and those that
do waive them especially during the 0APR period and otherwise too upon
request. However it is unreasonable to expect companies to keep offering
0APR cards for 7 years.

- quote -

Thats why there is online banking and automatic payments etc..

In article <ddcb36f8.0409170952.5b9aaaa3[at]posting.google.com> ,
<isaacyho[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

That is assuming that you are offered 0%, and that you have some
place to transfer the balance to in one year. Most of the 0% offers
that I have seen are for only 4 to 6 months, but I would imagine
that 12 offers are out there. You normally do not ask for 0%.
Rather, the credit card companies offer 0% to their best customers,
or as a promotion to get you to apply for a new card.

- quote -

First off, there are nearly always fees for balance transfers.
They are often 3%, which means $450 in this case. Some companies
cap the fee at $75 or $100. You will pay this fee on each transfer.
Most companies make you pay a minimum payment, generally 2% of the
outstanding balance. This would mean payments of $300 per month.
That means you pay about $1000 every three months, or $4K per year.
This would pay off the entire balance in 4 to 5 years. Finally,
if anything at all goes wrong, like a late pay or a check gets lost
in the mail, the interst rate is cranked up from 0% to 21.99% or
29.99%, whatever the maximum is allowed by law in your state.

- quote -

Yes, the $15K would count against you. In addition, they would
take some part of the $15K and call it a "monthly payment", and
add that to your total monthly debt payments. This total montly
payment cannot be more than 35% to 38% of your income to qualify
for a conventional mortgage.

Now then, on to the questions you didn't ask:

#1 - there is a risk that you take on this credit debt, and
are obligated to the minimum payments, and then lose your job.
Can you handle the payments in the worst case scenario? Are
you willing to take on the worst case risk? If so, then go
ahead. Otherwise, think twice about it.

#2 - maybe it would be better to simply co-sign for a personal
loan for your sister. This would keep most of the risk on her
side, and she can work odd jobs on odd hours to pay it back.
You don't have to work that much to earn a few hundred a month.
If she cannot make it, then you either help her out, or the
loan will revert to being your loan.

#3 - everytime I have loaned money to someone, I have either gotten
screwed, or it ruined the friendship that I had with the person.
I would never suggest loaning money to someone who you want to
remain friendly with. How about just giving her the money? The
value that you will get in free medical advice in the future will
far outweigh the $15K that you pay today. Make it a gift, do the
brotherly thing, and don't louse up what seems like a great
relationship with your sister over a bunch of smelly money.

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

I have a plan:

Since I have stellar credit, I could apply for a 0% APR credit card (
I've found some that will take balance transfers and apply 0% APR for
a year ). Then, when the year is used up, I can transfer it to
another card, correct?

I imagine I might need to do this for about 7 years for my sister.
What implications will this have for me, assuming that she
consistently pays off the minimum balance ( if there is any )? I
make about $90K a year and am single. I don't spend crazy money so my
credit line is more than enough to handle it. But what if I were
going to buy a house? Wouldn't this $15K adversely affect my credit
rating?

Thanks,

Isaac

"John A. Weeks III" <john[at]johnweeks.com> wrote in message news:<160920041748215743%john[at]johnweeks.com> ...
- quote -

In article <ddcb36f8.0409161246.39159bf0[at]posting.google.com> ,
<isaacyho[at]gmail.com> wrote:

- quote -

Well, if she is going to be a doctor, she should have been smart
enough to walk past the credit card offers and not get head over
heels in expensive debt. She should actually be counting her
blessings since credit cards can charge 18%, 21.99%, and even
29.99%, and she is only paying 10%. That is a real bargin
for unsecured debt.

There is no chance of her getting anything better for a loan.
Credit card debt is pretty high risk debt to start with, and
few people are going to want to take on that risk and not get
the rewards in the form of the interest rate. She should talk
with her parents, or perhaps marry someone who will bail her
out. Otherwise, there is the age old secret program that some
people in debt use--they get a job and pay it off. There is
no law saying that she cannot deliver pizzas or drive a school
bus in the morning.

-john-

--
================================================== ==================
John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 john[at]johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
================================================== ==================

Slim or none

<
- quote -

In article <ddcb36f8.0409161246.39159bf0[at]posting.google.com> ,
isaacyho[at]gmail.com wrote:

I'm sorry but I cannot cry tears about your sister's situation. If she
is going to be so well paid in the future she should tolerate the
accumulated debt now. If she doesn't actually complete her education
she carries the same risk that we all do.

I do not see any way that I could qualify for a loan at 5%, I do not
see why your sister needs a loan at that rate. It sounds like she is
getting a free ride for much of her expenses but has a strong feeling of
greed.

Sorry --

Dick


- quote -

Hi there,

My sister has $15K in credit card debt. The thing is, she is starting
Med school and got a nice loan package which will take care of her
tuition and living expenses: most of these loans are deferred until
her graduation. However, her credit card debt is not, and is at 10%
APR.


I was wondering if she could get additional deferred loans, or at
least low APR loans that are not deferred. She said she talked to the
financial aid officer of the med school, and that basically, banks
only honor the standard package signed off by the school when it comes
to educational deferred loans; credit card debt obviously is not part
of the package.

But she's going to be a doctor, for goodness sakes! What do you think
her chances are of finding a bank that will swing her a supplementary
loan that is either deferred and/or has a low APR ( say 5% or less?
)?

Thanks!

Isaac