The news arrived late 2022: Wells Fargo was selling its $10 billion education loan division. However the results weren’t immediate. It took a couple of months for borrowers with existing student loans to become affected.
As with any major change, borrowers are understandably concerned about the transfer. Will their rates of interest change? Will they need to pay the borrowed funds off sooner?
The great news is, there’s little to worry about!
Loan transfers are common
If you’ve ever endured a mortgage, you probably already know that loan transfers are typical. In fact, the odds that you’ll have a similar lender throughout the lifetime of your mortgage are pretty small.
Wells Fargo sold its student loans to Firstmark, whose parent company, Nelnet, is well-established in the student loan industry. If you have an education loan with Wells Fargo, the transfer is going to be created using no action necessary from you.
The thing about these loan transfers is you possess a contract with Wells Fargo. Unless you sign a new contract with Firstmark or Nelnet, the organization needs to honor your original terms. If you choose to refinance the borrowed funds with Firstmark in the future, you’ll then have new terms, but they’ll be terms you agree to follow.
So, what in the event you do?
The smartest thing you can do while you watch for further instruction would be to make sure your contact information with Wells Fargo can be date. Any letters, email messages, or phone calls will probably happen in what Wells Fargo has on record for you personally. Firstmark will probably rely on this same information to go into touch.
You should receive directions on whatever you need to do from now before the transfer becomes final. These communications will probably come by postal mail even when you’ve signed up to get information regarding your account by email.
When your transfer is finished, review any new documents Firstmark sends. Match it up for your original loans to ensure that your original agreement has been honored.
Weighing other options
Firstmark is really a respected lender with an online portal that makes managing your account easy. If you have autopay set up, you’ll just need to make sure that continues smoothly.
Although your terms will stay exactly the same after the transfer, that doesn’t mean you can’t look around. You might find a lesser rate and terms having a competitor.
Luckily, it’s never been so easy to research loan options. In case your loan is by using Wells Fargo, you might have already gone through the process of refinancing a federal loan. Refinancing a private loan is a similar process.
Here are a few great private student loan choices to assist you to start your search.
Fiona
If you’re simply looking to obtain a concept of what rates are open to you, Fiona is a great starting point. Just select student loan refinancing from the drop-down box and you may see current offers from the few lenders. If you wish to obtain a customized take a look at rates, you are able to input a few details and compare your options as to the you’re getting with Wells Fargo.
With 
Another site that lets you compare multiple lenders is Credible. Just input some good info in your education and income and evaluate the offers. You can choose from up to 10 lenders, and there’s a low rate guarantee (so you’ll get $200 from 
For a direct loan, there’s CommonBond, a personal lender that can help you refinance your education loan into one having a lower rate. With CommonBond, you are able to choose from a fixed-rate, variable-rate, or hybrid loan. Hybrid loans give you several years at a fixed interest rate, followed by a flexible rate.
If there comes a period when you need a break from payments, CommonBond offers forbearance as high as 24 months during the period of your loan. Rates are currently 2.59%-6.74% for fixed, 2.55%-6.86% for variable, and a pair of.98%-6.57% for a hybrid loan. All rates will be discounted by 0.25% should you set up autopay.
PenFed
PenFed also offers direct student loan refinancing, with fixed rates starting at 2.99% APR and variable rates as little as 2.16% APR. You can refinance both student and parent loans using PenFed, and also the rate you’re quoted depends on your credit score as well as your income.
You could possibly get a no-obligation quote from PenFed in your research and compare it with other offers. You’ll just have to input some basic details about yourself, your finances, and your loan must begin.
Upstart
Upstart is a direct lender that offers a wide variety of loan types, from unsecured loans to debt consolidation reduction. You can refinance student education loans of up to $50,000 using Upstart. Terms of three and 5 years can be found with rates ranging from 8.94%-35.99% APR.
One of the greatest things about Upstart is when quickly the process goes. If you’re going for a cash-out loan, this is obviously more essential, but it could be a relief to understand your paperwork will go through the system within a couple of days.
Loan transfers as well as your credit score
As having a mortgage loan, transferring from one servicer to a different won’t negatively affect your credit score. However, you could visit a brief dip in your score until things stabilize. After that, your score should be where it had been before.
The important thing would be to make certain you’re paying your loan on time every month to keep your score strong. As your loan moves from Wells Fargo to Firstmark, there might be confusion about where you can send your payment. Seriously consider any communication you obtain from either lender to make sure you determine if there are special instructions.
Summary
Even though Wells Fargo is halting its education loan program, your loans is going to be transferred automatically to Firstmark. You shouldn’t have to change lenders so long as you’re pleased with a student loans you currently have.
However, it can never hurt to shop around for other available choices. You may find that by refinancing with a new lender, you get better terms and lower rates, costing you less on your monthly obligations.
