There are different ways of consolidating debt and even without the aid of a consolidation loan, a debt reduction of up to 60% is easy achievable. There are professional negotiators that can agree with your creditors new repayment programs along with reductions on the interest rate you pay for your outstanding debt and sometimes even a cut on your debt's principal.

Debt Consolidation Agencies

Before contacting a debt consolidation agency you need to be aware of what they are capable of doing and compare that with your financial needs. Using the services of a debt consolidation agency is a decision to be taken as last resort. Once the fact that you've got into a debt consolidation program is reported, your credit history will reflect this and your ability to get finance will be considerably diminished.

However, if your current bills, loan installments, unpaid credit card balances and all other debt have become an unbearable burden, then a debt consolidation program might be your only chance to avoid other more extreme measures like bankruptcy.

A debt consolidation agent will be assigned to your case. He will gather all the information available about your credit, your outstanding debt, your income, your assets, etc. and with that information he will design a plan. He will contact your creditors and negotiate with them. Since your creditors want to get paid, they'll agree more flexible conditions and they will resign to charge high interests on your debt. They know now that if a consolidation agent is taking care of your debt chances are that if they don't cooperate, they might get nothing.

There are mainly two different options after negotiation. You may obtain new repayment schedules with lower rates and lower monthly payments you'll be able to afford or sometimes the agent agrees with the creditors a reduction on the whole amount of debt in exchange of immediate cancellation of their bills, balances and loans. If the agent takes this second path, he probably has arranged for you to get approved for a consolidation loan. The money obtained will be used to repay the new negotiated debt and you'll end up with a single monthly payment: The loan installments.

Consolidation Loans

With the aid of a debt consolidation agency, it is much easier to get a consolidation loan in order to cancel your debt. The lender knows for sure that the money will be used to repay and cancel all your debt. Probably, the agency will arrange for the money to be directly transferred to the creditors. The lender will then be your only creditor which lets him in a privileged position when it comes to recovering his money if he has to take legal action in order to do so. And that is the main reason why with the help of a consolidation agent non-homeowners can get approved for debt consolidation loans too.