Enter the cosigner.
Both parties become co-credit applicants, taking on the financial risk of the mortgage together. This means the co-borrower essentially owns the house too, whether they live in it or not.
Unlike co-borrowers, who are on the title or have some claim to the property or funds, co-signers have no title or ownership of the property the funds are used for. For example, a co-signer for a vehicle has no legal right to the financed vehicle.
Cosigning a loan doesn't give you any title, ownership, or other rights to the property the loan is paying for. Your only role is to repay the loan if the main borrower falls behind on the payments or defaults.
Co-signers can lose their property if the loan defaults.
Keep copies of all paperwork on hand in case disputes arise, and ask the lender to notify you in writing if the borrower ever skips a payment.
Remember, the primary borrower legally owns the vehicle, so an auto loan co-signer cannot take over without the consent of all parties and a refinance loan.
What is a Co-Signer? A co-signer applies for the home loan right along with you. However, they are not on the title of the home. The co-signers name is only on the loan, meaning that while they are financially responsible for paying back the mortgage, they do not have ownership of the property.
Request release from a co-signed loan
Co-signers can make a written request to the lender to be released from a loan. In certain cases, like some student loans, there may be a provision that allows a co-signer to take their name off a loan.
Neither you nor your co-owner can sell the property whenever you want to. You both must agree to sell it. You may even have challenges selling your interest property.
This means that when you're a co-signer, the lender can come after you for payments if the primary signer defaults on the mortgage. The lender has the right to hold you responsible for the missed loan payment even if you don't live in the home.
Co-borrowers can remain in their role until the mortgage is fully paid off. However, if the primary borrower finds they're able to assume full financial responsibility for payments, or the co-borrower asks to be removed, the primary borrower can apply to refinance the mortgage to be in only their name.
Removing a cosigner or co-borrower from a mortgage almost always requires paying off the loan in full or refinancing by getting a new loan in your own name. Under rare circumstances, though, the lender may allow you to take over an existing mortgage from your other signer.
The loan contract often includes a clause covering the death of one of the parties, such as the co-signer. In such cases, the deceased individual's estate may be the new co-signer. If the loan is in default, the lender could pursue repayment from the estate's assets — and from the living borrower.
You, as the homeowner, typically hold the house deed to your property, even with a mortgage. The house deed and mortgage are separate legal documents with different purposes. A deed proves ownership and transfers title, while a mortgage is a loan agreement.
When your credit score improves, you have the option to remove the co-signer from your loan. You can remove the co-signer by refinancing your auto loan, receiving a co-signer release or paying off the loan.
Yes, you can sue the person you co-signed for if they don't make the payments they promised to make. You may be able to get a judgment against them in court, but it could be hard to collect that money since they didn't pay the debt in the first place.
You need to be aware that a co-signer's rights are limited. Co-signing means promising to pay back a borrower's loan if the borrower fails to pay. You have the responsibility of repaying the debt, but you don't have any right to use the loan proceeds.
Will I have ownership of the property if I cosign? No, you will not take on ownership if you're only a mortgage cosigner and not an actual co-borrower. As a cosigner, you're only guaranteeing the loan payment. Your name will not be on the title to the property.
Agreeing to cosign a loan for someone is a generous thing to do, and risky. Such a noble deed will show up on your credit report, but the impact won't always be positive. On the one hand, your credit score might improve if the primary borrower executes timely payments.
Co-signers guarantee the loan, meaning they'll take over payments if you are unable to make them. They have no ownership interest in the property and can't decide to sell the property if they don't pay the loan.
Being removed as a cosigner from a loan could potentially hurt your credit scores. How much your scores are impacted depends on the details of your credit profile.
Cosigner: This is a person with solid credit and income who can help boost your chances of approval. Although liable for payments if you default, the cosigner doesn't share vehicle ownership and won't be on the car title.
You can only sell if you get permission from the other co-owner(s). If all the co-owners agree that you should sell a property, and when you should sell it, then there's no problem. Unfortunately this doesn't always happen.