Ask Terry Questions co-signing for a mortgage

co-signing for a mortgage

By Terry Savage on April 16, 2022 | Housing / Real Estate

Hi Terry My niece, Jenna, recently ask me to be a co-signor for a home mortgage. She will not qualify for the mortgage without a co-signor due to the fact she has not been in her current job for 2 years. I would like to help her but I would like to know exactly what a co-signor’s obligations are. If there is a counseling agency you can recommend that would be very helpful. Thank you, Alice Smeed

Terry Says

Don’t do this! If Jenna can’t qualify for a mortgage on her own, she should be renting — and saving up for a down payment, and building her credit. The banks know what they are doing.
You are on the line for the mortgage payments if she defaults. And if she defaults it could ruin your credit!
Not to mention that you might be on the loan as a guarantor, but not on the title to the property –in which case you have absolutely no control!

By the way, if you are the “retired rich Auntie” then you might not even qualify for a loan, or to co-sign! Retirement income is typically not considered in making a mortgage loan.

Let me end where I started: DON’T DO THIS!!!

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