Private student loan newbies: Income for student? Lender?

[okurosetta]

My fiancee is looking to co-sign with her son for a private student loan. He will be attending grad school. He has about $10k in federal student aid secured and believes he will need another $8k for the school year (two semesters).

First question, what should he list for his income? He does not work. His mom does transfer $50 to him every two weeks, that’s $1300 yearly that can be documented easily. Other than that she does help by buying books and other necessities, could that count? He has received ~$2500 from various family after he graduated undergrad, could that count too? Anything else that I might be missing?

Second, any advice on what lender to go with? Should they be worried about being approved? (Both are around 720-730 FICO 8 scores.) He does have a relationship with Navy Federal (only 7 months) and she is also a member, but she hasn’t used her account (at all). She was leaning towards Discover, who she has had a long relationship with, fully positive.

So far only tried two soft-pull pre-qualifiers - did SoFi with $0 income listed for him and was rejected, did College Ave with $2500 income listed for him and was pre-approved.

Thank you in advance for any and all replies, we’re just clueless here!

[juzcruzzinusa]

My advice is use the KIS method Keep it Simple. 

Does the Student receive a W2 or 1099?

Do they have a Trust Fund they Draw income From?

Paid Cash? Here's How to Show Proof of Income!

1. Create Your Own Receipts.
2. Ask to Have Payments Written Down.
3. Print out Bank Account Statements.
4. Use Your Tax Return Documents.

If they have none of the above then they have zero Income.

[ccquest]

If this is for Grad School, I would only recommend looking into Grad Plus loans. They cover up to the full cost of attendance for graduate level and he should be able to do it himself. Federal protections while he is in school and the regular 6 month grace period for repayment afterwards when he finishes school.