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Co-signing, will his credit affect mine?

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oneday01
New Member

Co-signing, will his credit affect mine?

My fiancee and I are not married yet because he has bad credit.  A lot of charge-off accounts.  His debt is not much, but he has bad credit, low 500's.  I have not so good credit, mid 600's due to the fact that I debt ratio is high (I co-signed for my mom and her house), she is now a widow and will not be able to remove me as a co-signer, she however makes all her payments on time.  My question is, I want to buy a used car, if my fiancee co-signs for me, will his credit affect my credit score?  Will our credits be combined if we do this transaction?

 

Please advice.

 

Thank you!


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2 REPLIES 2
JM-AM
Valued Contributor

Re: Co-signing, will his credit affect mine?


@oneday01 wrote:

My fiancee and I are not married yet because he has bad credit.  A lot of charge-off accounts.  His debt is not much, but he has bad credit, low 500's.  I have not so good credit, mid 600's due to the fact that I debt ratio is high (I co-signed for my mom and her house), she is now a widow and will not be able to remove me as a co-signer, she however makes all her payments on time.  My question is, I want to buy a used car, if my fiancee co-signs for me, will his credit affect my credit score?  Will our credits be combined if we do this transaction?

 

Please advice.

 

Thank you!


First why would your fiancee co-sign for you if their credit is BAD? If your scores are better then you would have a much better chance at getting financing. 

 

No matter how you either have him co-sign or you finance on your own, his credit score will not affect your credit score. Your credit is never combined, you both have your own individual profiles.

Good Luck
May all your dreams and wishes become a reality!
Message 2 of 3
llecs
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Co-signing, will his credit affect mine?

Ditto...you wouldn't want him to cosign for you if his credit is worse. You'd have to do it on your own.

 

It should be noted that when you cosign, you have equal responsibility in terms of credit reporting and debt repayment as the one you are cosigning for. For example, using your mom and her home, that mortgage should be reporting to your credit report. Future lenders would take that payment into consideration and they'd usually assume you are making the payments, even though you mom is doing so. If your mom is late, you'll have a late reporting on your CR. If she's on time with the payments, then that'll reflect too. If the account is foreclosed on, then you'll have a foreclosure showing on your CR. If she were to get sued on it (not likely in this market), then you could get sued too. These are extreme examples, and I know it won't happen, but there's quite a few folks in these very forums who regretted cosigning for their friend, relative, etc. I used the mortgage as an example you helped your mom. Assuming your BF's credit was good, it sound like he wants to help you. The same applies to him for the car as it does for you and the home. If you are ever late, then he's late. You get the idea. Once you cosign, you can't reverse it unless there's a refi.

 

 

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