I am going through the process of applying for a USDA Guaranteed loan and am having trouble understanding how the co-signed debt exemption works. The USDA handbook has the following section:
"Co-signed obligations (Also known as co-borrower, joint obligator or guarantor). Co-signed debts must be considered in the total debt ratio unless the applicant provides evidence another obligor has made the payment on time in the previous 12 months prior to loan application."
Has anyone successfully gotten this exemption or knows how it works? I'm getting some conflicting info from lenders, who are saying that there's a difference between co-signer and co-borrower. I have an auto loan that I co-signed with my girlfriend. Both our names are on the loan documents (her name first), but it just says "Borrower 1" and "Borrower 2". The loan shows on both of our credit reports as a "Joint Account" (not "Co-Signer"), and both of our names are on the receipt for the car title (we don't have the actual title because it's held by the loan company).
Thanks for the help!
