CommonBond Review – Best Student Loan Refinancing Program

A generous forbearance period, hybrid rate student loan refinancing, and a strong social good program set CommonBond apart in the market.

Paying your student loans can feel like a big chore, especially if you run into financial trouble and have difficulty making your regular payments. By refinancing with CommonBond, you get 24 months of forbearance over the life of your loan, giving you the flexibility to manage the rest of your monthly bills without racking up late fees on your student loans.

This extra-long forbearance period means borrowers who run into problems - job loss, illness, or other financial troubles - or those who need to save up for a big life change such as a move or a new child, have more freedom to respond to their changing needs without sacrificing their credit.

If you have a bachelor’s degree from a Title IV school and you have good credit, you may be able to save thousands of dollars over the life of your loan when working with CommonBond.

CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing: What You Need to Know

CommonBond is a primary lender, meaning that when you apply for student loan refinancing through them, you will work with CommonBond until your loans are paid off.

If you have one or more student loans from your education, CommonBond allows you to pull all of them together, both private and federal loans, into one easy loan payment. In many cases, refinancing can get you a lower interest rate, saving you thousands of dollars.

One feature that’s unique to CommonBond is its generous forbearance term.

The lenders who disperse federal student loans allow borrowers to apply for forbearance if they run into financial difficulties that make paying their full monthly amount problematic. Forbearance typically is available for up to 12 months in the cases of job loss, illness, or other financial hardship, and can temporarily reduce or suspend your monthly payments.

Forbearance is less common in private student loan lenders.

With CommonBond, however, you can qualify for up to 24 months of forbearance over the life of your loan, and is available on both federal and private refinanced student loans.

This gives borrowers much more flexibility in the event of financial difficulties, decreasing the overall burden of high student loan payments.

How Does CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing Work?

CommonBond is a private student loan company that offers refinancing of both federal and private student loans. They also offer refinancing of federal PLUS loans that were taken out in your parents’ name while you were in school, enabling you to remove your parents as co-signers and put the loans entirely in your name.

Qualify

Potential borrowers can see if they qualify for refinancing through CommonBond and get potential interest rates without uploading any documents, and without making any commitment to refinance. CommonBond also doesn’t do a hard pull on your credit score.

This quick, easy option is great for anyone shopping for the best student loan refinancing rates, as you can see what rate you may get without being locked into refinancing with CommonBond.

Application

If you decide to go with CommonBond for your loan, you will be asked to complete an additional application, providing documentation on your loans, education, and other items. Once approved, CommonBond pays your prior student loans and you then begin the student loan payment process at the beginning, paying only CommonBond.

Refinancing is helpful to people who carry a variety of student loans from various lenders, paying separate interest rates, and making different monthly payments. Many borrowers find they save money by refinancing, although that isn’t always the case.

Flexible Options

There are no prepayment penalties or origination fees when borrowing with CommonBond, saving you money when refinancing.

CommonBond also partners with Pencils of Promise, which provides schools, teachers, and technology to students in Ghana. If doing business with a company that’s committed to helping others, CommonBond may be a great choice.

Where is CommonBond Available?

CommonBond’s student loan refinancing is available to customers in 48 states and the District of Columbia. It is not available to customers in Mississippi and Nevada.

How Much Does CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing Cost?

To find out if you qualify for student loan refinancing through CommonBond, it doesn’t cost you anything. Additionally, if you decide to work with CommonBond, there is no fee for the origination of your refinanced student loans, and you will not pay any penalties for pre-paying on your loan.

CommonBond’s loans are competitive with the rest of the market, with rates starting around 1.75% for its variable rate loans, around 3.1% for its fixed rate loans, and around 4.2% for its hybrid rate loans.

What Options Does CommonBond Offer for Student Loan Refinancing?

CommonBond offers three types of rates for its student loan refinancing: fixed, variable, and hybrid.

Fixed Rate Student Loan Refinancing

When you choose a fixed rate loan, the interest rate you receive on the day you begin your loan will remain the same until you pay it off, no matter what the market does.

This option is often chosen by those who desire predictable monthly payments and who don’t want to risk rising interest rates causing them problems down the line.

However, fixed rate loans tend to come with higher rates than variable rate loans, which can scare off people who owe a lot of money or who don’t make a lot of money.

CommonBond advertises fixed rate student loan refinancing between 3.1% and 6.4%, which includes a 0.25% rate discount for choosing autopay. If you decide to opt out of autopay, expect rates between 3.35% and 6.85%.

Variable Rate Student Loan Refinancing

Variable rate student loans are just as they sound: Your interest rate varies based on the current interest rate. If interest rates are low globally, your interest rate is low; if they increase, the interest rate you’ll pay increases.

Many people like variable rate student loans when interest rates are low - as they are now - because they end up paying less in interest monthly and can either save that money for other expenses or to use to pay more toward principal.

However, if interest rates rise, then your payments increase, which can easily cause financial strain.

CommonBond’s listed variable interest rates for student loan refinancing are between 1.7% and 6.25%, with a 0.25% decrease for autopay included. For those who choose to not autopay, they can expect rates between about 2% and 6.5%.

Hybrid Rate Student Loan Refinancing

One product that is unique to CommonBond is its hybrid rate student loan refinancing option. This is a combination of a fixed rate loan and a variable rate loan.

For the first five years of the loan, you’ll pay a fixed interest rate. For the final five years, you’ll pay a variable rate depending on current interest rates. This is a product that CommonBond introduced in 2015 and is unique to this lender.

Many people who want to take advantage of the predictable payments of a fixed rate early in the loan - when income may be a bit lower and life changes such as marriage and children are more likely to occur - and then risk the variable rates for the last five years when the overall loan balance is lower and the changes to monthly payments may be less dramatic.

CommonBond advertises interest rates from 4.2% to 6.1% for hybrid loans, with a 0.25% discount for autopay. Choosing not to use autopay means you can expect to pay between 4.55% and 6.32% interest on your hybrid loan.

CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing Features:

• Founded in 2012 as a response to its founder’s poor experience borrowing money for business school
• Funded $3 billion in student loans, including refinancing
• Also offers private loans for undergraduate, graduate, MBA, dental, and medical schools
• Offers 24 months of forbearance in the event of financial trouble
• Not available in all 50 states
• Can refinance parent PLUS loans
• Can refinance private and federal loans
• Offers fixed, variable, and hybrid rate loans
• Partners with Pencils for Promise to provide schools, teachers, and technology in Ghana
• No prepayment or origination fees
• Check rates for free and without obligation
• Only available to those with at least a bachelor’s degree
• Autopay discount of 0.25% for the life of the loan
• Quick, easy application process

Pros and Cons of CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing

Here are some of the pros and cons of choosing CommonBond for student loan refinancing:

Pros:

• Offers fixed, variable, and hybrid rate loans
• Offers 24 months of forbearance, double what many other lenders provide
• Can refinance parent PLUS loans, as well as both private and federal loans
• Partners with Pencils for Promise to provide schools, teachers, and technology in Ghana
• Rates competitive with the market
• No prepayment or origination fees
• Check rates for free and without obligation
• Autopay discount of 0.25% for the life of the loan
• Quick, easy application process
• Also offers private student loans

Cons:

• Not available to residents of Mississippi or Nevada
• No extra programs for medical students or those who are unemployed
• Only available to those with at least a bachelor’s degree
• Autopay payments are taken out bi-weekly instead of monthly

Discounts on CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing

CommonBond offers a 0.25% interest rate discount for choosing autopay. This discount is good for the life of your loan, and is available for fixed, variable, and hybrid rate loans.

CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing Customer Reviews

CommonBond doesn’t have a very solid customer review profile on consumer sites, but they do have more than 300 reviews on their website.

“My experience so far with Commonbond has been wonderful. They've saved me money and taken years off the length of my student loan, while providing an easy to understand, concise process. They also help provide education for students in Ghana through a non-profit called Pencils of Promise, which frankly is what made me choose them over a competitor with an otherwise similar offer. I look forward to partnering with Commonbond throughout the process of paying off my loan.” - Elizabeth G.

“I just wanted to thank you for making what I thought would be a complex and complicated process so simple and easy. The timely updates to show me where I was in my process were such a stress reliever as I didn’t have to go searching for updates and making sure everything was on track. In an industry that is riddled with terrible customer experience. It’s a breath of fresh air to deal with a company that actually has my needs in mind and makes my life easier.” - ANDREW L.

How to Apply for CommonBond Student Loan Refinancing

Applying for CommonBond’s student loan refinancing is typically quick and easy:

1. Visit www.commonbond.co/refinance-student-loan.
2. Click “See My Rate” and provide basic information about yourself such as your contact information, student loan balance, highest degree attained, and your annual pre-tax income.
3. CommonBond will show you what rates are available to you based on the information provided.
4. If you choose to work with CommonBond, you will be taken through the formal application process, where you will provide documentation of your education, loans, and income, and CommonBond will pull your credit score.

How to Contact CommonBond

Address: 524 Broadway 6th Floor New York, NY 10012 Customer Service: (800) 975-7812 Email Support: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommonBond.co/ Twitter: @CommonBond LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/commonbond_co/ Instagram: @commonbond Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/commonbond0080/ YouTube: https://www.pinterest.com/commonbond0080/

Does CommonBond Offer Other Types of Loans?

Yes. CommonBond offers private student loans in addition to refinancing student loans.

CommonBond Review – Summary

When refinancing your student loans, you want to find the lowest interest rate possible and the best repayment terms.

At CommonBond, they have competitive interest rates with the rest of the market for those with bachelor’s degrees, regardless of whether you choose fixed, variable, or their exclusive hybrid rate loan. However, something that really sets CommonBond apart from the rest of the student loan refinancing market is its 24-month forbearance period.

This feature, which is twice as long as the forbearanceyou’ll find at other lenders, gives borrowers the flexibility to still repay their loans without penalties while being able to respond to changes in life. If you lose a job, join the military, or have a sudden illness, this option can mean the difference between being able to pay your mortgage and struggling.

A quick, easy online application gives you an idea of whether or not you qualify for a loan without an obligation, allowing borrowers to shop around.

For those who want flexible repayment options and market competitive rates, CommonBond is a great choice. Additionally, their partnership to provide educational materials to students in Ghana is attractive to those who want their lenders to be part of the greater good.