What to do if you have nothing to pay on the loan

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you find yourself in a financial hole, you shouldn't go deeper. Contact the bank and do not rush to go bankrupt.

You can accumulate funds in advance for the reserve fund, calculate everything, but face a problem when there is a loan, but there is no money to repay it.

If the monthly payment is small and the loan is small, consider making quick money in order to scrape together money for a payment or pay off the loan ahead of schedule, saving on interest.

It will be much more difficult for those who owe a significant amount. As a rule, the size of the monthly payment is large, which aggravates the situation. But in this case, there are several ways to solve the problem.

Dealing with debt

Contact the bank and ask for relief

The bank is your main ally. The financial institution is interested in you returning the money to them, so they are ready to meet halfway and offer options to ease the financial burden.

Bank employees will be more accommodating if you confirm with documents that a difficult situation is caused by serious circumstances, and not by a desire to bargain for better conditions.

Debt restructuring

You will be offered new conditions for the return of the loan. As a rule, we are talking about increasing the loan term. At the same time, the size of the monthly payment will decrease, and it will be easier for you to settle accounts with the bank.

In the long term, this is not the most profitable strategy for you, since you will overpay on the loan more than you originally planned. But on the other hand, you will still be able to repay the loan sooner or later.

If one day the financial situation improves, just pay off the loan ahead of schedule to reduce the overpayment.

There are also other options for restructuring. For example, a loan in foreign currency can be converted into rubles at the current exchange rate.

Loan refinancing

The bank will issue a new loan on better terms so that you can pay off your previous debt. For refinancing, you can apply to other financial institutions, and not just to the one where you have already taken out a loan.

But this must be done on time: if you have already been late in payments, this will affect your credit history. In this case, you will no longer be a desirable client for a third-party bank, as he may have doubts that you will return the money.

If you have a lot of loans, both when restructuring and when refinancing, try to combine them into one - it will be easier to maintain financial discipline.

Sale of pledged property

Both the apartment and the car, which are pledged, can be sold, but only with the permission of the bank. It is not always easy to find a buyer for property with encumbrances, therefore, you may have to set the price slightly below the market price. However, a sale and purchase transaction will allow you to get out of the situation with the least losses: you will close the debt to the bank, and take the rest of the money for yourself.

Lease of collateralized property

First of all, we are talking about an apartment for which a mortgage has been taken. If your property is located in a prestigious location or has many rooms, you can rent it out and rent something cheaper. The difference in payments will be used to pay off the debt.

Better to rent out a mortgage apartment with the permission of the bank and officially. Usually, the loan agreement contains a prohibition on such actions without the knowledge of the financial institution, and in case of violation, it may demand from you the entire amount of the debt in full.

Deferred payments

The bill on credit vacations has just been submitted to the State Duma for consideration. But even now, some banks provide various options for deferred payments. Find out more about this at the financial institution where you were given the loan. In Sberbank, for example, a grace period for loan repayment is spelled out as one of the options for debt.

Depending on your situation and the policy of the bank, you may be provided with a deferral of payments on the principal and interest, or only on the principal.

Contact the Financial Ombudsman

In 2018, he appeared in Russia on the rights of consumers of financial services. Its mission is to help citizens and banks resolve disputes before trial. Contacting an authorized person will not free you from the loan, but it may make the bank more accommodating.

The ombudsman is allowed to ask for help if your debt does not exceed 500 thousand. Also find out if the bank has joined this regulatory system. Until 2021, he can do this voluntarily.

Ask the state for help

According to the law, assistance from the state is provided for mortgage holders. However, this does not apply to everyone. Borrowers, whose monthly payments have grown by more than 30%, can apply for such support - usually this is the case with a foreign currency mortgage.

There are other requirements for both borrowers and real estate. So, the area of a one-room apartment should not be more than 45 sq. m, kopeck piece - more than 65 sq. m, and three rubles and further - more than 85 sq. m.

If you fit all the criteria, then you can be reimbursed up to 30% of the balance of the mortgage debt (but not more than 1.5 million) or replace a foreign currency loan with a ruble loan on much more favorable terms.

Should you declare bankruptcy?

Set aside this option until you have tried the previous methods. Bankruptcy is not just a method of getting rid of debt. You will receive a damaged credit history, lose all valuable property and the right to hold management positions for several years.

In addition, you will be assigned a loan manager, whose services must be paid for within a few months.

But if there is no other way out, you will have to declare yourself bankrupt. This can be done by citizens whose debt exceeds 500 thousand, and the delay in payments is a period of three months. Lifehacker has already written how to act in this situation.

What not to do in order not to make problems

Ignore the bank

Debt will not go away by itself. The bank will want to receive money anyway. Your debt can be sold to collectors who do not always act within the law. This is fraught with annoying calls to you and your environment, dubious meetings with strong men and other unpleasant consequences.

The bank can also go to court and collect debts from you. As a result, you will have to part with part of the property. And if an apartment is pledged by a financial institution, then eviction looms ahead. Keep in mind that the property will be sold at below market prices and the legal costs will be on your shoulders.

Take out other loans to pay off this one

If we are not talking about restructuring, a new loan will only exacerbate the situation. Next month, you may be late on payments for two loans instead of one. In addition, the deeper you sink into debt, the worse your credit history becomes.

And this means unfavorable conditions for loans, if they will still be given to you. Therefore, it is worth going to a bank only to solve problems with current debts.