Personal finance experts advice consumers to deny requests for
acting as a cosigner on any financial obligation unless there is an additional legal documentation drawn up to protect the cosigner.
You'll need a good credit score and a steady, decent income history to
qualify as a cosigner for private student loans.
And as such, a late payment by the borrower is essentially the same
thing as the cosigner making a late payment in the eyes of the credit bureau.
Many companies will allow you to get a cosigner release (meaning you are completely released from your
duties as a cosigner).
Using a
spouse as cosigner on a loan or credit card can bring about some unwanted financial challenges.
I was put on a
contract as a cosigner, without ever giving my written or verbal consent for them to run my credit and use my information.
Of course, it is also necessary to ensure the right person is
chosen as a cosigner, with lenders only willing to accept those with excellent credit scores and a large enough income.
If your budget can accommodate the payments and do so without putting you and your family under significant financial strain, then you may be able to move
forward as a cosigner.
If you have poor credit, however, you won't be
approved as a cosigner, and your child will have to deal with their student loans alone.
Since as a cosigner you are just as responsible for the loan, it will show up on your credit report.
First, acting
as a cosigner allows you to take an active role in funding the education of a loved one.
Both surveys were administered to parents who are / were currently
acting as a cosigner on their children's private student loan debt.
To
qualify as a cosigner, they need to have a clean credit history and may need to meet income requirements.
The cosigner's credit rating is used to determine whether to give the loan, though the loan is placed in your name as
well as the cosigner's name.
Many companies will allow you to get a cosigner release (meaning you are completely released from your
duties as a cosigner).
The customer service rep rattled off some perks,
such as cosigner release, that other lenders offer.
Got another question — «my father is
listed as a cosigner on my private student loans, how can I take him off so that I have the sole responsibility?»
If you want to remove a cosigner from your loans (or would like yourself to be
removed as a cosigner), one way to accomplish this is by consolidating into a new loan.
Signing a
loan as a cosigner can be a risk — they're taking on a debt load that they won't personally benefit from but could hurt their credit.
Your cosigner might be a relative, such as your parents or aunts or uncles, or a friend - anyone who knows you and trusts you to repay the tenant loan can be
used as a cosigner.
Oftentimes, the parent of the borrower or a close relative will stand
in as a cosigner; other times, a good friend or coworker may be willing to cosign a bad credit loan.
Question: Dear Steve, I took out a student loan in 2006 with my
father as the cosigner for a one year nursing program (LPN).
Initially, a cosigner may see his or her credit score take a tumble, as the student loan is
treated as the cosigner's debt for credit purposes.
Because of this incredible loan limit (or the lack thereof), a Parent PLUS Loan application requires a parent with good
credit as a cosigner.
If they've been responsible the entire time, then they should be in good
shape as cosigners.
«The biggest
concern as a cosigner is your responsibility if the borrower can't make payments,» says Hughes.
Although she had a bevy of federal student loans, Lyn still needed private funding, and her father acting
as the cosigner helped her get approved.
But if anyone else is associated with that debt,
primarily as a cosigner on a loan, that person is now in the lender's crosshairs.
-- Your ability to obtain any sort of personal credit and / or loans decline as a result of your
obligation as a cosigner.