How to Get a Mortgage With a Cosigner
- 1). Find a cosigner willing to take on partial responsibility for the mortgage. The cosigner will be liable for the mortgage payments if you default. If the house enters foreclosure, the cosigner will be considered responsible and it will be on his credit report. Any collections activities will be directed at you and your cosigner if you become delinquent on the mortgage.
- 2). Apply for mortgages using the cosigner's identity and credit rating. Inform any lenders that you deal with that you are cosigning the mortgage. For the purpose of pricing the mortgage, the lender will take into account you and your cosigners' credit behavior.
- 3). Create a budget that details how you will be able to make mortgage payments with your current level of income if it will be a serious financial hardship for the cosigner to take over responsibility for the mortgage. The lender will not require it if the cosigner can clearly support the mortgage payments, but it will decrease the likelihood that you will default on the mortgage.
- 4). Sign the mortgage agreement with the cosigner. The cosigner will need to agree to the mortgage terms at the time the agreement is made for it to be in effect. When you sign the mortgage agreement, the mortgage account will appear on the cosigners credit report as well as that of the primary borrower. All late payments, defaults and foreclosures will also appear on both credit reports.
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