Bad Credit and Loans

jspeed87 said:
Is it ok to get 5 hours of dual per month?
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You can fly as little or as much as you can. Some months I fly 0 hours of dual or solo. Some months I fly an hour or two. I have been going at it for a year now and have 44 hours. I plan on taking my checkride next month sometime. If you can't make it now, what makes you think you can afford to fly when you have a big fat loan payment due every month.

Like Ian J said...
Let's say you get a $50,000 loan at 10.5% at a 15 year term. (No idea if they even do 15 year terms for flight training loans... perhaps someone else could help me out.) Your monthly payment would be about $550/month.

Feed your urge to fly by going up when you can. Pay as you go. Even if it's 2 hours per month.
 
tpaRob said:
You can fly as little or as much as you can. Some months I fly 0 hours of dual or solo. Some months I fly an hour or two. I have been going at it for a year now and have 44 hours. I plan on taking my checkride next month sometime. If you can't make it now, what makes you think you can afford to fly when you have a big fat loan payment due every month.

Like Ian J said...
Let's say you get a $50,000 loan at 10.5% at a 15 year term. (No idea if they even do 15 year terms for flight training loans... perhaps someone else could help me out.) Your monthly payment would be about $550/month.

Feed your urge to fly by going up when you can. Pay as you go. Even if it's 2 hours per month.
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Yes me hungry for flying, me start now! lol seriously though, If it takes me a year just for my private what about the rest of my ratings? Eventually I would need a loan.
 
Not to add burned-up brain cells of my own to the discussion, but here goes...

Two examples:

1. one is a friend who made decent money as the main salesperson for mountain high oxygen. His wife is a DOCTOR and they own their own plane while they are also building a kit plane. He and his wife also at one point each held national reacords in distance hangliding. He just got his CFI after years of having a PPL and is now enrolled in a college in Utah in aerospace science so he can get deeper into the industry. He is in his 40's and has the means and the time to do all this and it hasnt disappointed him or frustrated him to be entering the serious aerospace world at his age. HE IS YOUR COMPETITION! He has been patient, careful, and serious about his flying career and it is now paying off after 20 years.

2. My flight instructor: retired professor of biochemistry who has been a full-time CFI for 7 years. He has a pension from his university as well as full benefits from his university. He doesn't need to fly, he enjoys teaching and decided on this second career for the love of teaching. He also was patient, careful and had the money/time to devote to being a CFII. HE IS ALSO YOUR COMPETITION!

You think a 4-year degree is a waste of time!?!? Good luck with that.

Education at a community college or 4 year university with a focus on aerospace would be a great place to start rather than just say "screw it" to a degree. With the economy being tighter (as everyone else on this thread has mentioned), it's the people with 4-year degrees that will have a chance of making it. You are simply not going to be competitive against these people. You will either have to be very lucky or very smart to get a good aviation-related job...given your bad credit, the luck and smarts in your case have run out gas.

Do yourself a favor and get a degree first, then worry about flying. I waited 20 years before flying due to caution and waiting until i had the means to work toward my PPL (and now i am into it for about $6000.00 and still have another $5000-6000 to go).
 
mojo6911 said:
I suggest the pay as you go method, or save up and get the private done in one lump sum.
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Yes you guys are convincing me. I was thinking pay as you go for private and instrument and then get a loan when the economy gets better for the rest.
 
jspeed87 said:
Yes me hungry for flying, me start now! lol seriously though, If it takes me a year just for my private what about the rest of my ratings? Eventually I would need a loan.
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It took me 6 years to go from Private to CFI. I just paid as I went. I worked full time at an FBO pumping gas, and this allowed me to ride along with local pilots that would invite me, and let me fly an hour or two here and there for free.

I have 0 debt right now and am happy I don't have a $600/month (This is more than my principal and interest on my house!) payment hovering over me for 10-15 years.

At 18% interest on a 15 year loan for $60,000, the payments are $966.00 a month.

At the end of the loan, you will have paid $113,925.47 in interest alone.

Put these numbers in perspective.
 
If it takes you a year to get your PPL, you could be using that year to clean up your credit. Because... you ain't getting a loan this year. Once you are getting up in the air regularly you'll find costs to cut so you can fly more.

I think you're starting to see this light. Good luck.
 
I'm glad to hear you're leaning towards the pay as you go option. I totally understand the hurry you're in, as I was there myself. There were several times that I felt like saying "screw it" and getting some loans so I could jump head first into aviation. Fortunately I have a 4 yr degree, and did end up paying as I went. I also had to make some hard decisions before jumping into professional aviation, one of which was to do whatever it took to get out of debt. I sold my motorcycle (which I loved and was a huge part of my life), I sold my guitar, I sold my camera gear, and I pinched every penny. It was not easy, but being able to fly professionally was my motivation.

My first flight was in May 2004, and I passed my CFI in July 2007. All costs were paid cash as I went through various FBOs, all across the country (FL, CO, CA, TX). Not only did I save money, but I was able to get some great experience that somebody doing it all in 9 months never would.

Although I was frequently frustrated with how slowly my flight training was going compared to everybody else, I am so glad I was patient now. Because I have no CC debt, no car loans, and minimal student loans from my 4 yr degree (about $160/mo), I am putting money into my savings acct every paycheck. I'm also able to go out with friends and have fun, go on dates, buy something nice for myself every once in awhile, etc. It really enhances your quality of life to have a low debt lifestyle. If I had a huge loan over me, I'd really be stressed out.
 
Well folks, some good advice out there. That's a good thing. Perhaps he can begin to see the light.

Have you thought about the military? There is the GI bill and if you can stand the Army for a few years, you can get 40K...that will pay for a lot of flying AND it gives you time to clean up your credit, get some college done and see the world!
 
Michael95U said:
Unfortunately, you are not going to find one company out there that is going to loan to someone with poor credit for flight training. I have advised some of our prospective students with GOOD credit who got loans with SLM at 18% to cancel their loans. It is just is not worth it.

Everyone that has replied to your thread is trying to help you out. We have all been there and done it....Michael
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I think you had a little typo creep in there Michael
It should read FORTUNATELY, you are not going to find a company.....

Financing flight training should be done way different. Especially with the economy and outlook for this industry, as a banker, I would consider financing any amount for flying more dangerous than dealing with penny stocks. High risk lending should be high interest. Lets start at 30%.
 
jspeed87 said:
lol Nice one. Seriously speaking though I just need to start flying! I don't care if it's 20 percent interest rate. Whats the point of waiting?
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That attitude has played a large role in driving our economy into the toilet.

Frankly, if you are already behind on payments on a car, you can probably forget getting a loan right now, unless it is at an absurd rate.
 
jspeed87 said:
Nope. First off I don't plan on going to the regionals until I have payed off my loans. $1350 a month as a CFI? Maybe entry level but their are better jobs in Arizona and Florida.
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I'd love to know where you plan on instructing. On average I make anywhere from 1200 to 1600 a month. All of those CFI jobs that make 40,000 a year are gone. There is not a huge need for CFI's anymore, so good luck.

Fix your credit and then start flight training. Get a decent job not flying and pay for your training as you go. There is no hurry right now.
 
surreal1221 said:
Going to sound harsh, but. . .

How about you fix your credit before trying to go further into debt?

You know, because stabilizing your credit is far more important than dropping further into debt. You're credit is falling for a reason.
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:yeahthat:

If you've got bad credit, someone is trying to tell you something. It means you can't keep up with your bills as it is and you want to add MORE debt to the pile?

Tell you what. Give me 10 percent of what you want to borrow and I'll come over and kick you in the nads. Hard.

It'll hurt less and it will cost you 90 percent less, BEFORE interest.
 
shoot 20% interest.. Thats nuts, it only gots to 15% at Sallie Mae I believe, they qouted me at 12.5% and with 2 co signers, and we have good credit. Thats just the times. We would pay $20k in interest. Ya right.
 
The bank is going to ask how you intend to repay a $60k student loan when you've shown some hesitation to your current automobile payment. Given my experience with the current credit market, you're in no danger of getting an unsecured loan with poor history from your secured loan. So this thread is basically moot.

The real question should be, how do I reestablish my good credit rating while earning my ratings sans a loan?

Have you considered becoming an ATC in the mean time? Or what about getting your dispatcher's license and working for a regional? Do you have any interest serving in the military?

Edit: Just from my experience, $40-50k seems like good money until you start making $40-50k and you realize what you could if you made $60-70k. YMMV.
 
Or maybe the 4 year degree would be your best option. It would help you to understand why 20% intrest compounded monthly is devastating to your life, mental health, and to your social agenda. There's financial aid for people in your situation making 1.2k/month. If you really can't afford going to college the government will help you. Use these things to help your situation don't worry about aviation until you are ready, it won't go anywhere in the next couple of years.
 
Agree with all the doomsayers. In addition, I predict that you in fact will not go crazy if you don't start flying. You might, however, mature and stop crying like a 5 year old who doesn't get a toy. Think of this as a learning opportunity, as in "learning how to be an adult".
 
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