Good morning everyone. Not sure if I am in the right place here since I have already graduated, about 5 years ago. I have all federal loans, about 21K left. I’m looking to refinance to bring my interest rate and monthly payment down. I’ve been looking at ELFI since they offer some of the lowest fixed interest rates out there, however, the company is a newer company, starting to offer loans in 2015, which makes me a bit nervous. The loans come through Tennessee-based SouthEast Bank, whose holding company, Educational Services of America Inc., has supposedly been around much longer.
Does anyone have experience with either taking a loan or refinancing with ELFI? Is there any reason I should have my guard up just because they have only been around since 2015?
Also, second question, as of now I get a tax return on my interest paid at the end of the year. If I refinaince my loan with a private company, is it still considered an educational loan, whereas I’d still get a tax credit at the end of the year? Or are they considered personal loans?