Mortgage FAQs: Should Your Parents Co-Sign on a Mortgage?

"WE’VE FOUND A BEAUTIFUL HOME THAT WE’D LIKE TO BUY, BUT WE DON’T QUITE QUALIFY FOR THE MORTGAGE. MY PARENTS HAVE OFFERED TO BE CO-SIGNERS, BUT IS THAT A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE THEM DO THAT?"

Before deciding on whether or not to have a co-signer, you and your parents should think carefully about what co-signing on a mortgage really means. As with you, your co-signer will need to go through the loan approval process and produce the necessary documents—tax returns, bank statements, etc.—to get approved for a mortgage. Your co-signer’s assets, debts and overall credit will be combined with yours for the approval of your mortgage.

By co-signing on your loan, your co-signer is effectively agreeing to be responsible for the terms and conditions of the mortgage if you fail to meet those terms and conditions. Also, your co-signer should know that your mortgage loan will show up on their credit report and it may limit their ability to get a mortgage or another type of loan down the road.

Yes, you can have your co-signer removed from your mortgage at some point in the future, but only when you reach the point that you’re able to qualify for the mortgage yourself. Of course, the upside of having a co-signer is that you’ll be able to better qualify for the house of your dreams.

In the end, it’s definitely something that you and your potential co-signer should sit down and discuss before moving forward.

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For more than 25 years, Omega Financial has been serving mortgage clients in Massachusetts. Our brokers have approximately 50 years in the mortgage business. You always will receive fast, courteous, and accurate information. Omega Financial, Inc. is a company duly licensed to operate in Massachusetts as a Mortgage Brokerage. We are located in the Town of Norwood, Massachusetts where we have been operating as Omega Financial Incorporated since 1988.

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