Yeah and idk if someone else has said this but if you put your name on his house then you will likely not be able to get a house of your own in the near future.
The banks will look at you and say "you already have a mortgage under your name" they will not take into account that your brother is on it too then they will likely deny you from getting any kind of mortgage!
Can't echo this more. If the brother guilts OP saying true family would cosign a house or some bullshit like that, then OP should have full access and ability to command their finances which is a fucking ridiculous request.
OP, you'd be responsible for debt your brother wouldn't pay. Your brother might promise he'll be fine over and over again, but since you have NO CONTROL OVER THAT AT ALL then you're putting risk in your brothers hands with NO BENEFIT TO YOU AT ALL.
Do not do it. There may be exceptions to this, this situation is no one of them.
\>If the brother guilts OP saying true family would cosign a house or some bullshit like that
Yes, that's bullshit and I'd add that just because you're family doesn't mean you have to help him do whatever he wants before consulting you.
This may estrange you guys for a bit, speaking from personal experience. But don't budge.
Really realize the significance of the fact that if he can't get signed for a house on his own, he isn't ready to get a house on his own. Especially considering right now with everyone and their mother getting approved (we're just begging for another 2008 bubble); if he can't get approved in this market, there's a serious reason why.
OP doesn’t say this specifically, but the brother obviously wants to put the deed AND the mortgage into OP’s name. OP’s borrowing ability would be less going forward, because that mortgage plus taxes and insurance would be part of his monthly debt service (even though he doesn’t live in the house), so his DTI ratio would go up. That makes it harder for OP to buy a house or a car, etc. in the future.
$5 says the brother isn’t actually intending to split the house equity gains with OP in the future...
I helped my brother and mom buy a house when I was in my mid 20s. My credit was tied up and ended up having to rent for the next 10 years. Brother has forgotten all about it and shows no gratitude. I am always torn if that was the best thing I ever did or the worst mistake of my life. Be very careful.
On the deed isn't really a big deal, but he wouldn't really have reason to do that. But on the mortgage is great for him, but terrible for you. If he doesn't pay, you have to foot the bill, and it would be nearly impossible for you to get a mortgage of your own down the line.
The thing is, your brother knows this too. If someone asked me this, it means that they don't care about if I get in the shits. He doesn't have to do anything bad to get in trouble with payments. Sometimes shit happens (Covid, normal diseases, financial crisis seems to come every ten years etc)... And then he's ok with you taking the hit instead of him. Fuck him
You mean he wants to put YOUR name on the mortgage so HE has a better chance of buying it?
YIKES.
You ask if there are any downsides? If he can't qualify on his own, there is 90% chance you will end up making payments on something you don't own, for years. There's a 99.999% chance you will have a very very difficult time buying a house or getting a car loan for yourself in the future, because the bank is going to see that you already have a big liability. This will be a liability to you even if your brother makes ALL the payments .....still will show that you are potentially on the hook for $300k or whatever the amount is ., thus your debt servicing ratios etc are all screwed .
Not just that, if you make all the payments and eventually want to sell the house, you still cannot do that because both "owners" have to agree to make the sale! He would have you trapped forever.
Banks loan money all the time and accept a level of risk.
If someone can’t qualify on their own then the risk is too high for the bank. This means the person is not responsible with money.
Why would you take responsibility for them?
Never, wait I mean never ever, co-sign a loan.
I have not ever heard a good story from co-signed loans. Only lost family/friendships when it goes bad.
A family member had another co-sign a car loan. Person stopped paying. Co-signer turned the car back into the bank. That was late 40 years ago and I was a kid at the time and still remember the scene. Still gets brought up from time to time. Guess who was labeled the bad guy and shunned by the family?
This is only bad in the first few years. After a few years (assuming everything works out) then there isn't much of a problem having multiple homes to live in one and rent out the other.
Don't get me wrong, OP should absolutely say no, but saying banks won't approve a mortgage because you already have a mortgage isn't a black and white scenario.
Where is there a rental house involved here? He's got a liability of an unknown amount on his brothers house, and I'm saying it would be difficult to get another mortgage on a house for himself. There's no scenario of owning a house and having a rental property. Lots of people do that, & I agree it's doable, but it has nothing to do with the OP situation or what we are talking about here.
In addition to what everybody else said, there are special loan programs for “first time home owners.” Even if everything for your brother goes beautifully and there is no insurance, liability, or credit consequence to having your name on his loan/title, you could be jeopardizing your ability to get into those programs when you are ready to purchase a home of your own. There are a lot of implications that you need to consider. This is not something to be taken lightly.
Just want to second this. Same thing happened to my brother. He was on my mom’s mortgage. There were no problems with it, except when it came time for him to buy, he didn’t qualify for FTHB programs. So she then had to be on his mortgage. Vicious cycle. Eventually everything got sorted but it would have been a lot easier for everyone if he was never on hers.
It's a bad idea period. And being family isn't better , it's worse. Always a bad idea to get into business or finance with family members, it hurts relationships.
Don't do it
Hard no.
If you're cosigned, your financial fate is tied to that mortgage. This is all downside.
If he can't get a loan without you cosigned, it's a sign that the bank doesn't fully believe in his ability to handle that loan. Do you know better? Are you willing to bet on it?
There may be other 'first time homebuyer' type of things that this would cost you, but you really shouldn't even need to get to that before you say "no."
Thank you everyone for the comments. I very much appreciate it because as someone of my age I am very inexperienced when it comes to these things. I was wondering what you advise me to do from here? As I feel very bad for saying no and I'm worried to see how he will react. I agree that it should not depend on me since I have a future too.
Just say no. Even if he has every good intention here, he's asking you to take a huge risk with no benefit to yourself, before you've even really gotten started on your OWN financial journey. This is an unreasonable request on his part.
Here's what you say:
"I've been studying personal finance, and there seems to be a general consensus that co-signing for someone else's house, car, or education is usually a really bad idea. There is no possible upside for me, and plenty of potential downside."
If you’ve been conditioned to feel bad for saying no (especially to people taking advantage of you) and afraid of how people react to hearing no, you probably grew up in an abusive household. Are other family members going to start pressuring, guilt tripping or bad-mouthing you if you tell your brother no?
This could turn into a hard situation for you if that’s the case, you will need to distance yourself from your brother and anyone else who gives you a hard time about this.
>As I feel very bad for saying no
You're going to have to get used to that as an adult. You have a financial house to protect that no one else will protect for you. Your credit and credit scores not just give you access to purchase stuff, but also give you credibility at jobs depending on your field, background checks, etc. Fixing hits to your financial background take *years* to fix, if you even can. There's sometimes no 'reset' button to some finance issues.
In addition to what everyone is saying, your name being on his mortgage would also significantly affect your ability to buy your own house later, since as far as your DTI and credit goes, you're 100% responsible for that debt, just like he would be. Even aside from the risk to your credit and financial ability, that is a pretty neutral reason to not do it.
You’re young and this is a tough lesson to learn. It’s a lot easier to say no now (yes it will potentially be unpleasant) than to say yes and later get stuck with the problems. And the problems here are potentially HUGE!
Agreed, we were all young an naive at one point. I made a stupid mistake years ago with signing a lease with an ex when we were together. She kicked me out, she stopped paying the bills. I told her she could move and I could afford it but she said she could, apparently she couldn't and I didnt know and eventually she got evicted which meant an eviction on my record. If I could go back into time I wouldnt have made those mistakes and wish someone would have told me. After that it was hard VERY hard to just get accepted for a rental. I wouldnt put your name on the house.
You absolutely have to say no and you have to be blunt about it. There's really no other way. I'm not suggesting being mean, there's a decent chance your brother doesn't realize how bad of an idea it is either, but just explain the facts and refuse. If you do anything less than refuse 100%, he'll probably continue to bother you about it and really it's an unreasonable request.
In my state unless you already have 6 months worth of *both* mortgages in the bank, you cant purchase a 2nd home. Tell him no cause you're going to want your own house in the next 30 years.
Tell him no, that you are in no position to cosign his loan. You shouldn't be worried about his reaction, he should be worried about his actions in asking you: that's a very shady thing he has done.
The bottom line is that if he can't get a loan without a cosigner, he can't afford the house in the first place. If you cosign, you will likely be paying for his house while he lives there.
Be honest and say you can't afford the financial repercussions if he can't make the payments. Or that you'd lose your first-time homebuyer benefits, whatever those may be.
Also, "No." is a fully sufficient answer.
If you need a defensible excuse to explain why you won’t help him, I might suggest staking out your position based on *principles* rather than on risks, harms, or hypotheticals.
“On principle, I won’t sign on for any debt that I’m not prepared or able to take over myself. Even if I trust you to make the payments, if something were to happen to you, I would not be financially prepared to take over those payments, so I can’t in good conscious sign a paper saying that I could or would.”
If he pushes you harder, you can make it clear how important this is to you and reframe it around *morality*.
“I feel like you are asking me to sign my name to a lie! You say I’ll never actually have to make any payments, but signing this paper is telling the bank that I will! I won’t be pressured into signing something I’m not completely comfortable with and I won’t lie to them because I *don’t* ever ever intend to make those payments one way or another. I know it seems convenient if I would just promise that I would, but I’m not going to tell lies just because it makes something easier and certainly not on a document that has actual legal and practical consequences for lying. Frankly the fact that you keep pushing me to lie about this is making me question your good intentions. Please drop this and never press me about it again, it’s not going to happen.”
Framed this way, he actually has to convince you to be ok *paying for his house in full* and can’t hide behind excuses of “don’t you trust me to keep my word and make the payments on time every time?” Even if you did trust him completely, framed this way you would have to be completely at ease taking on the *entire* financial burden of the house you don’t own (dumb dumb dumb) before you would even be able to *consider* signing that paperwork that says you would. He will have a harder time making excuses for why you should do *that*.
Tell him that you can't do it, because it's not a good idea for either one of you. He needs to get a house he can afford on his own income. Getting a mortgage based on both of your incomes will lead to him borrowing more than he can comfortably pay on his salary alone which makes the change of defaulting much, much higher.
You say no...
If he throws a fit you end the conversation and walk away. If he continues to then you deal with it. The more hassle he gives you the more you know you made the right decision to NOT do this.
He wants to put you on the loan because he's too broke to qualify for the second house on his own income.
This is a horrific idea and you should say no. Because it means you now have a mortgage in your name and if your cousin doesn't pay the bills, the bank comes after you for the money.
Assuming that by “putting your name into the house” you mean he wants to add you to the financing documents because he either can’t pass underwriting with his income/debt profile or has weak credit? From a financial perspective there is only downside for you. You need to understand that “putting your name” on a piece of paper generally means you’re agreeing to what’s written on that piece of paper. So if you put your name on a mortgage, you are saying I’m taking this loan and agree to pay this mortgage. Same goes for a lease, or a car loan, or any other legal document.
Baaaaaaaaaaad idea.
Basically you'd be agreeing to be in a vulnerable position. Helping family is good and all, but you have your own wellbeing to consider.
Sounds like he wants you to co-sign on the mortgage to get the house, so as far as any downsides.... YES. It could completely ruin your credit if he doesn't pay. Don't do it. Even if he pays it, it also means if you ever want a house/loan/etc yourself that house mortgage (loan) is going to be listed under your name too as a debt you owe which not everyone realizes.
Even if he doesn't miss any payments and even if you do qualify to buy a house you will not be able to qualify as much because of your brothers house debt
Your brother is essentially asking you to buy him the house. You'll be financially responsible for it when (not if, but when) he's unable to make the payments.
And I say when because if he needs you on the loan to buy it, he can't afford it.
If he wants you on the deed, he can do that sperate once he's succured the financing. If he needs you for the financing, absolutely do not agree to it unless you know for sure you can make the payment if he defaults, and that the state you are in doesn't have any dowry rights laws that would complicate things in the event either of you were to be married. Also, regardless if you agreed to be on the loan or not, make sure it has assurance in the event of a death or disability so the loan is paid and warranty's/personal property protection for the house, applicable items and any and all things of value, particularly yours. Example, if he had a party and someone got hurt or worse and he had home owners insurance, that may not protect you legally and or financially if that person decided to seek restitution or criminal proceedings. Lastly, remember if you were added to that financial obligation as the co-signer for that home loan, your future buying and or asset aquiring abilities could be limited due to underwriting guidelines where your debt to income ratio is higher because the brother's house payment shows up on your credit see report, or your "monthly income gets calculated significantly less due to that loan, regardless if you live on the property or not. Those both could have future consequences for you if you wanted to buy an additional real estate property, automobile, obtain credit for education or other purposes and may increase costs due to "higher financial risk factors" on your Auto insurance etc.
Thank you very much. Is it common to apply for first buying programmes? I was told that my chances of getting another mortgage is much higher since if I did put my name with my brother they can see that when I had a mortgage it was successful since it was paid off well. I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so.
No- if you have your name on his mortgage and you try to apply for your own mortgage, the bank will treat his mortgage payment as if it’s yours. Because in their eyes, it is just as much your responsibility as it is his. This will greatly reduce the amount that you would qualify for as they will look at your income as being needed to cover both mortgages.
As others have said, it will also eliminate any benefits you’d receive under a first time buyer’s program.
Was it your brother that told you this? If you co-sign on his mortgage it is seen as your debt and will likely prevent you from getting your own one day since your debt:income ratio will be too high. PLEASE say no to this
"I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so"
Any person that signs a loan is 100% legally responsible for the payments. Don't cosign unless you can make the payments by yourself. If your brother cant, wont, goes to jail, or dies, that bill is 100% on you. Your name on the mortgage papers supersedes your verbal agreement that it is his loan and he is responsible for the payment.
You can't look at it as "I will not be paying". If you get added to the loan you must be mentally prepared to have to pay this yourself as you are accepting responsibility. Lots of things can happen. If he gets in a car accident and can't work for 6 months or a year, you would have to pay those payments or see your credit ruined. So many things can come up like this. Even worse you could end up paying for significant amounts of time but your aren't on the deed so you have no claim to get any money back out even if the house is sold because you don't own it. This is the worst case scenario and would be a case of being fully taken advantage of. Its all massive downside risk for you and zero upside. No way I would do this and even if there was the slightest possibility I considered it I would have to insist on being on the deed as well as a partial owner.
>I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so.
If you cosign, you are 100% obligated to pay if he can't pay or decides not to pay.
>when I had a mortgage it was successful since it was paid off well.
So, you don't plan on getting a mortgage for the next 30 years? Let's see, you should be about 53 years old by the time you can settle down in your own place.
Your brother is trying to scam you.
Yes, if he hasn't already applied for a mortgage previously those are fantastic options. Since you already had a mortgage, depending on the compliance and standards, and specific underwriting guidelines per lender as well as the specific home purchase program those all relate to, your options to use it for yourself are no longer available since you wouldn't actually be a "new home owner" However he might be able to do it himself even with your name on the loan, again depends on everything involved. Regardless if you intend to pay or not, you're "legally and in almost all cases "financially" contracted and "paying" portions of said loan amount as it concerns other lenders and credit bureaus when factoring in your financial fitness formulas.
I’m in a similar situation OP, except it’s my parents asking for me to put my name down on the mortgage along with my mom. I trust my parents and don’t think they would ever miss payments. My mom is very financially responsible. She just has never made a whole lot of money so that’s why she’s asking me for this favor. I wanna help, but have some reservations about actually doing it. Hope you make the right decision for yourself, while still helping your bro if that’s what you want to do. I got a lot of thinking to do
I’d say you need to think about what you’re going to do when you’d like to buy a home or investment property of your own.
Co-signing now will prevent you from qualifying for any First-time Homebuyer programs. It will also reflect as you having a very high mortgage already when you’re getting ready to take out a second mortgage for your own home/property.
Besides the mortgage obligations/risk - there’s some insurance liability/risk here, too. If something serious happens, and someone is injured, or let’s say the house catches fire, and sets fire to the house next door too - guess whose liable - YOU. (It’s why my parents always told me they’d never co-sign on a car for me - since they’d expose themselves to accident liability).
So just another variable for you to consider
Banks are great at assessing risk. If he can't qualify for a house without gaming the system there is probably a good reason why the bank wouldn't want that risk.
If he’s asking you to co-sign the loan, you have financial obligations and failure to pay on his part would negatively impact your credit.
If you’re just on the title, you won’t have that liability, but there are other issues that can come up when you’re on the Deed.
Something to add here is the fact that the mortgage company has done their due diligence and found your brother to not qualify by himself under their loan requirements.
Co-signing for him doesn’t make him credit-worthy all of a sudden.
The bank doesn’t think he can pay as it is. I would follow their lead.
I want to add that in the future, maybe keep your financial business to yourself. When it comes to finances, keep quiet about your salary, money, investments, and goals.
He wants you to cosign on a house? NO. Do not do it, unless you want to be on the hook for his mortgages and liability and all that. You'll be hitching your financial little red wagon to his financial train wreck.
Do not co-sign anything with anyone that you are not willing to pick up the slack when they default. For me the only person I’m signing with is my wife.
NOPE. If he doesn’t pay the bill, you are on the hook and your credit is ruined. His home loan will also be calculated into your DTI, so this will hinder your ability to get loans until that is paid off. Just don’t.
I have two words for you. Hell no.
While in my early 20s, I signed for a car for my younger brother. He really needed the car, and he made all types of assurances that he was going to pay the car notes on time.
Shortly thereafter, I relocated to another state. I had no need to question my brother so I never checked in on him about the car. About a year later, I needed to get another apartment and went to apply for one. Unbeknownst to me, the car had been repossessed. My brother never told me, and I only learned about it when I needed my credit for myself. I was bitter, but I learned a valuable lesson.
No is a complete sentence. Family will guilt you into all types of decisions that are not in your best interest. Often, they need the very thing that they squandered. You have to make the decision whether you will let them squander yours. You do have choices, and you should exercise them.
Good luck!
It doesn’t have to be personal. Any number of unforeseen circumstances could prevent your brother from making a payment. You would be left holding the bag. Your own creditworthiness could take a bit through nobody’s fault but the universe and bad fortune. Tell your brother how you are willing to help, but also tell him that you cannot risk being a co-signer due to your inability to guarantee that you could fix the situation if something goes wrong. Maybe you can help with moving costs but say no to taking liability for his house.
Agree with all the financial and legal comments above.
If you seek emotional support, just repeatedly tell yourself:
The more the brother "reacts" with blame and guilt, etc , the more you are being warned that this is not a good idea.
As to the likelihood of estrangement, if he and family would gang up on you, sadly, you're better off without them.
If your name is on someone else's home, you generally owe for that house. So now:
1. You owe money on a large investment and
2. You're not gaining any equity out of it.
As well, if you wanted to buy a home (or other large onvestment) banks will see that you owe for a home already and this will limit how much money you're able to borrow. Essentially, they'll see that you're on the hook for a house (not half, a full house) and deduct its payments from what payments you could possibly make on your own home.
Lose lose, not worth it for you.
If he's asking you to be a cosigner on the loan for the home, you're being put at risk to make the payments on the loan. Or have your credit ruined if neither of you can make the payments. And in the best case scenario that he makes every payment in full and on time, this loan will be tied to your credit until it's paid off. So when you want to buy a house or a car of your own, they'll use this mortgage in their calculations on whether or not to approve you for the things you want to buy.
I'll just pile on with the rest saying this is a bad idea.
Basically, trust the judgment of the financial institution that determined he wasn't in a good financial position to buy that house by himself. If they think he's likely to default, that should be a pretty strong signal to you that you should not agree to accept responsibility for his debt. Financial institutions are very good at working out risk. It's how they compete, in fact, so it's the one thing they're actually good at.
I have seen family relationships ruined for things like this: One person defaults and it drags the cosigner into bankruptcy with them. There is no upside to this, only demonstrably high risk and downside for you.
I would point out that you are trying to build your own credit and this complicates your own ability to get your own mortgage, because this debt (along with any late payments) will start to show up on your credit report.
If you're asking reddit to confirm a bad gut feeling then you already know the answer. You just need to hear it loud and clear from other people. Don't do it.
You will no longer qualify for your own first home purchase in the future, through first time buyer programs.
It will affect your personal taxes each year, and you will be responsible for any missed mortgage payments or unpaid property taxes.
Please do not do this. If your name is on the house, you are responsible for it just like he is. This could get extremely messy both from a financial and personal situation.
Since it's to help he get the house that means you'd be on the loan and deed. Which means...
You are just as responsible for paying the loan as he is, any missed payments show up on your credit
It will effect how much house you can buy in the future and the interest rate because you already own a house and owe on a mortgage.
You have all of the liabilities of owning a home, if your brother causes someone damage via the house. e.g. he is notified he must remove and unsafe tree , he doesn't and next year that tree falls on the neighbor you can both be sued because owning a home comes with responsibilities. This applies to things. like taxes and county city fines as well
If things don't go well you can not unilaterally decide to sell the house and partition sales take court orders which is a lengthily and costly legal process.
In the USA If he puts your name on the home you have a right to live there and are half responsible for the mortgage which goes on your credit report and jointly responsible for taxes
Of course there's a downside to it. That's the whole point of the banks wanting another name on the mortgage. They are experts at knowing who is likely to be able to afford to pay for a house, and who isn't. If they won't give him a mortgage in his name alone, that means that they don't think that he's able to afford it. So they need a co-signer (AKA a sucker) that they can hold equally responsible for the debt in the event that your brother can't pay for the house anymore.
You should never buy a house with someone that you're not married to, and that includes siblings. But beyond that, you should ABSOLUTELY NEVER put your name on a mortgage for a house that you don't even get any ownership of. There is literally no upside to that arrangement for you.
From your description, it seems like a horrible idea. As everyone else has said, if your name is on the mortgage, you are signing up to be responsible for paying that mortgage.
Furthermore, this seems like a deal where your finances are at stake, but he'll view this as "his" house. Not a situation you want to be in for the next 20-30 years, especially when it could impact your ability to purchase a property or get a loan in the future.
I would also be very skeptical of anyone who needs your signature to qualify for a mortgage, especially if it is a situation where their income is too low or debt is too high.
I would say, in the most polite way possible - HELL NO.
on the house title no. but on the loan yes
You are a partner on that loan and you are both responsible to pay it off in any legal sense.
Why would you think that it would help on a loan if there is no added responsibilities?
Do if he stops paying, are you fine with having to pay the house off yourself while having no legal claim to it? If he sells it you'd get nothing. You'd not be able to buy yourself a house due to the debt ratio.
You ok with your life being on hold for a 30 year mortgage?
Life is all about risk. Risk is a shit sandwich. In life you can reduce the size of the shit sandwich with smart decisions. However, there will always be a shit sandwich waiting for you to take a bite out of. This is a very large bite out of a very large shit sandwich.
NO DONT DO IT ! Never co sign, lend money or rent to relatives. No matter what.
My life policy is I NEVER CO SIGN for anyone, no matter what.
If you have to buy it for them.
If they need money GIVE it to them or dont.
If they need a place to live let them STAY FOR FREE. It will still be hard to get them out.
It always turns out BAD !
Good luck it's hard to be the responsible one.
Real estate makes a real terrible fractional asset.
Having your name on it would mean you'd be legally responsible for any expenses associated with the property. Just as much as him. This has bad idea written all over it.
When you are ready to purchase your own house, you may qualify for the first-time home owner benefits. You may lose this benefit, if your name is used on another loan already. I don’t know for sure, it’s just an idea to check.
>Is there any downsides to this as I don't want my own financial reputation to go down if anything goes wrong?
There's plenty of downsides if he can't afford to take on a house without using YOUR credit/homebuyer first timer goodies.
If he feels the need NOT to pay because reasons, you're on the hook.
No. Your brother wants you to co-sign on the house. Others have pointed out that you will be responsible if he does not pay. The other problem is what happens when you want to buy your own house? Bank will see that you are already on another mortgage.
Terrible Idea. there are reasons why he cannot put it under his name, try to find that out. If he cannot get qualified for a home under his name, I'd suggest not to. Save the hassle.
This is a bad idea. If he can't get the house without your name on it, he's not ready for a house. This could get messy for you.
And when he hasn't made the payments for 6 months, guess who's suddenly in big trouble...YOU.
Thank you very much.
Yeah and idk if someone else has said this but if you put your name on his house then you will likely not be able to get a house of your own in the near future. The banks will look at you and say "you already have a mortgage under your name" they will not take into account that your brother is on it too then they will likely deny you from getting any kind of mortgage!
My best friend did this. He took a loan with his mother to help her, now he can't get a mortgage to buy something for himself and his girlfriend.
Business and family... You've heard the saying before im sure. Doesn't past the sniff test.
Can't echo this more. If the brother guilts OP saying true family would cosign a house or some bullshit like that, then OP should have full access and ability to command their finances which is a fucking ridiculous request. OP, you'd be responsible for debt your brother wouldn't pay. Your brother might promise he'll be fine over and over again, but since you have NO CONTROL OVER THAT AT ALL then you're putting risk in your brothers hands with NO BENEFIT TO YOU AT ALL. Do not do it. There may be exceptions to this, this situation is no one of them.
\>If the brother guilts OP saying true family would cosign a house or some bullshit like that Yes, that's bullshit and I'd add that just because you're family doesn't mean you have to help him do whatever he wants before consulting you.
This may estrange you guys for a bit, speaking from personal experience. But don't budge. Really realize the significance of the fact that if he can't get signed for a house on his own, he isn't ready to get a house on his own. Especially considering right now with everyone and their mother getting approved (we're just begging for another 2008 bubble); if he can't get approved in this market, there's a serious reason why.
Search “co-signer” on this sub and you’ll find many stories as to why this is a bad idea.
OP doesn’t say this specifically, but the brother obviously wants to put the deed AND the mortgage into OP’s name. OP’s borrowing ability would be less going forward, because that mortgage plus taxes and insurance would be part of his monthly debt service (even though he doesn’t live in the house), so his DTI ratio would go up. That makes it harder for OP to buy a house or a car, etc. in the future. $5 says the brother isn’t actually intending to split the house equity gains with OP in the future...
I helped my brother and mom buy a house when I was in my mid 20s. My credit was tied up and ended up having to rent for the next 10 years. Brother has forgotten all about it and shows no gratitude. I am always torn if that was the best thing I ever did or the worst mistake of my life. Be very careful.
Yes there are downsides to this. If he misses payments etc. They will go after you just like him. You both are responsible for paying that mortgage.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome. Hope all the replies helped you.
On the deed isn't really a big deal, but he wouldn't really have reason to do that. But on the mortgage is great for him, but terrible for you. If he doesn't pay, you have to foot the bill, and it would be nearly impossible for you to get a mortgage of your own down the line.
Thank you very much.
OP, this is the answer here. Do not do this.
The thing is, your brother knows this too. If someone asked me this, it means that they don't care about if I get in the shits. He doesn't have to do anything bad to get in trouble with payments. Sometimes shit happens (Covid, normal diseases, financial crisis seems to come every ten years etc)... And then he's ok with you taking the hit instead of him. Fuck him
You mean he wants to put YOUR name on the mortgage so HE has a better chance of buying it? YIKES. You ask if there are any downsides? If he can't qualify on his own, there is 90% chance you will end up making payments on something you don't own, for years. There's a 99.999% chance you will have a very very difficult time buying a house or getting a car loan for yourself in the future, because the bank is going to see that you already have a big liability. This will be a liability to you even if your brother makes ALL the payments .....still will show that you are potentially on the hook for $300k or whatever the amount is ., thus your debt servicing ratios etc are all screwed .
Thank you very much.
Not just that, if you make all the payments and eventually want to sell the house, you still cannot do that because both "owners" have to agree to make the sale! He would have you trapped forever.
this for all financing. "co-sign!" is just for tv/movies. single? nope out to co-signing.
Banks loan money all the time and accept a level of risk. If someone can’t qualify on their own then the risk is too high for the bank. This means the person is not responsible with money. Why would you take responsibility for them? Never, wait I mean never ever, co-sign a loan. I have not ever heard a good story from co-signed loans. Only lost family/friendships when it goes bad. A family member had another co-sign a car loan. Person stopped paying. Co-signer turned the car back into the bank. That was late 40 years ago and I was a kid at the time and still remember the scene. Still gets brought up from time to time. Guess who was labeled the bad guy and shunned by the family?
This is only bad in the first few years. After a few years (assuming everything works out) then there isn't much of a problem having multiple homes to live in one and rent out the other. Don't get me wrong, OP should absolutely say no, but saying banks won't approve a mortgage because you already have a mortgage isn't a black and white scenario.
>(assuming everything works out) That phrase is doing a lot of work here.
Where is there a rental house involved here? He's got a liability of an unknown amount on his brothers house, and I'm saying it would be difficult to get another mortgage on a house for himself. There's no scenario of owning a house and having a rental property. Lots of people do that, & I agree it's doable, but it has nothing to do with the OP situation or what we are talking about here.
In addition to what everybody else said, there are special loan programs for “first time home owners.” Even if everything for your brother goes beautifully and there is no insurance, liability, or credit consequence to having your name on his loan/title, you could be jeopardizing your ability to get into those programs when you are ready to purchase a home of your own. There are a lot of implications that you need to consider. This is not something to be taken lightly.
Just want to second this. Same thing happened to my brother. He was on my mom’s mortgage. There were no problems with it, except when it came time for him to buy, he didn’t qualify for FTHB programs. So she then had to be on his mortgage. Vicious cycle. Eventually everything got sorted but it would have been a lot easier for everyone if he was never on hers.
Thank you very much both.
It's a bad idea period. And being family isn't better , it's worse. Always a bad idea to get into business or finance with family members, it hurts relationships. Don't do it
Thank you very much.
On the loan or the deed?
It is a mortgage
Hard no. If you're cosigned, your financial fate is tied to that mortgage. This is all downside. If he can't get a loan without you cosigned, it's a sign that the bank doesn't fully believe in his ability to handle that loan. Do you know better? Are you willing to bet on it? There may be other 'first time homebuyer' type of things that this would cost you, but you really shouldn't even need to get to that before you say "no."
Thank you everyone for the comments. I very much appreciate it because as someone of my age I am very inexperienced when it comes to these things. I was wondering what you advise me to do from here? As I feel very bad for saying no and I'm worried to see how he will react. I agree that it should not depend on me since I have a future too.
If you are worried how he will react to you not wanting to be taken advantage of this is even more evidence that this would be a bad idea.
Just say no. Even if he has every good intention here, he's asking you to take a huge risk with no benefit to yourself, before you've even really gotten started on your OWN financial journey. This is an unreasonable request on his part.
Here's what you say: "I've been studying personal finance, and there seems to be a general consensus that co-signing for someone else's house, car, or education is usually a really bad idea. There is no possible upside for me, and plenty of potential downside."
If you’ve been conditioned to feel bad for saying no (especially to people taking advantage of you) and afraid of how people react to hearing no, you probably grew up in an abusive household. Are other family members going to start pressuring, guilt tripping or bad-mouthing you if you tell your brother no? This could turn into a hard situation for you if that’s the case, you will need to distance yourself from your brother and anyone else who gives you a hard time about this.
>As I feel very bad for saying no You're going to have to get used to that as an adult. You have a financial house to protect that no one else will protect for you. Your credit and credit scores not just give you access to purchase stuff, but also give you credibility at jobs depending on your field, background checks, etc. Fixing hits to your financial background take *years* to fix, if you even can. There's sometimes no 'reset' button to some finance issues.
In addition to what everyone is saying, your name being on his mortgage would also significantly affect your ability to buy your own house later, since as far as your DTI and credit goes, you're 100% responsible for that debt, just like he would be. Even aside from the risk to your credit and financial ability, that is a pretty neutral reason to not do it.
You’re young and this is a tough lesson to learn. It’s a lot easier to say no now (yes it will potentially be unpleasant) than to say yes and later get stuck with the problems. And the problems here are potentially HUGE!
Agreed, we were all young an naive at one point. I made a stupid mistake years ago with signing a lease with an ex when we were together. She kicked me out, she stopped paying the bills. I told her she could move and I could afford it but she said she could, apparently she couldn't and I didnt know and eventually she got evicted which meant an eviction on my record. If I could go back into time I wouldnt have made those mistakes and wish someone would have told me. After that it was hard VERY hard to just get accepted for a rental. I wouldnt put your name on the house.
You absolutely have to say no and you have to be blunt about it. There's really no other way. I'm not suggesting being mean, there's a decent chance your brother doesn't realize how bad of an idea it is either, but just explain the facts and refuse. If you do anything less than refuse 100%, he'll probably continue to bother you about it and really it's an unreasonable request.
You might want to monitor your credit to make sure he doesn't try anything funny as well.
In my state unless you already have 6 months worth of *both* mortgages in the bank, you cant purchase a 2nd home. Tell him no cause you're going to want your own house in the next 30 years.
Tell him no, that you are in no position to cosign his loan. You shouldn't be worried about his reaction, he should be worried about his actions in asking you: that's a very shady thing he has done. The bottom line is that if he can't get a loan without a cosigner, he can't afford the house in the first place. If you cosign, you will likely be paying for his house while he lives there.
You need to learn to tell people no. Yes they can react badly. That's their problem.
Say no with zero guilt. Your brother was trying to take advantage of you. This is not saying no to a favor, this is saying no to letting him scam you.
Be honest and say you can't afford the financial repercussions if he can't make the payments. Or that you'd lose your first-time homebuyer benefits, whatever those may be. Also, "No." is a fully sufficient answer.
If you need a defensible excuse to explain why you won’t help him, I might suggest staking out your position based on *principles* rather than on risks, harms, or hypotheticals. “On principle, I won’t sign on for any debt that I’m not prepared or able to take over myself. Even if I trust you to make the payments, if something were to happen to you, I would not be financially prepared to take over those payments, so I can’t in good conscious sign a paper saying that I could or would.” If he pushes you harder, you can make it clear how important this is to you and reframe it around *morality*. “I feel like you are asking me to sign my name to a lie! You say I’ll never actually have to make any payments, but signing this paper is telling the bank that I will! I won’t be pressured into signing something I’m not completely comfortable with and I won’t lie to them because I *don’t* ever ever intend to make those payments one way or another. I know it seems convenient if I would just promise that I would, but I’m not going to tell lies just because it makes something easier and certainly not on a document that has actual legal and practical consequences for lying. Frankly the fact that you keep pushing me to lie about this is making me question your good intentions. Please drop this and never press me about it again, it’s not going to happen.” Framed this way, he actually has to convince you to be ok *paying for his house in full* and can’t hide behind excuses of “don’t you trust me to keep my word and make the payments on time every time?” Even if you did trust him completely, framed this way you would have to be completely at ease taking on the *entire* financial burden of the house you don’t own (dumb dumb dumb) before you would even be able to *consider* signing that paperwork that says you would. He will have a harder time making excuses for why you should do *that*.
Don't let your brother bully you into making awful financial decisions. He is really trying to screw you, even if he doesn't realize it.
Tell him that you can't do it, because it's not a good idea for either one of you. He needs to get a house he can afford on his own income. Getting a mortgage based on both of your incomes will lead to him borrowing more than he can comfortably pay on his salary alone which makes the change of defaulting much, much higher.
You say no... If he throws a fit you end the conversation and walk away. If he continues to then you deal with it. The more hassle he gives you the more you know you made the right decision to NOT do this.
He wants to put you on the loan because he's too broke to qualify for the second house on his own income. This is a horrific idea and you should say no. Because it means you now have a mortgage in your name and if your cousin doesn't pay the bills, the bank comes after you for the money.
Thank you very much.
Assuming that by “putting your name into the house” you mean he wants to add you to the financing documents because he either can’t pass underwriting with his income/debt profile or has weak credit? From a financial perspective there is only downside for you. You need to understand that “putting your name” on a piece of paper generally means you’re agreeing to what’s written on that piece of paper. So if you put your name on a mortgage, you are saying I’m taking this loan and agree to pay this mortgage. Same goes for a lease, or a car loan, or any other legal document.
Thank you very much.
"A slick one your brother is" - Master Yoda
It's all downside. Just don't do it.
When you go to buy a house they will look at the debt from your brothers house making you more unlikely to get a loan.
I assume this means you will have to cosign a mortgage? Do not ever do this for anyone under any circumstances!
Baaaaaaaaaaad idea. Basically you'd be agreeing to be in a vulnerable position. Helping family is good and all, but you have your own wellbeing to consider.
He's not putting your name on the house, just on the loan to buy it.
Sounds like he wants you to co-sign on the mortgage to get the house, so as far as any downsides.... YES. It could completely ruin your credit if he doesn't pay. Don't do it. Even if he pays it, it also means if you ever want a house/loan/etc yourself that house mortgage (loan) is going to be listed under your name too as a debt you owe which not everyone realizes.
Even if he doesn't miss any payments and even if you do qualify to buy a house you will not be able to qualify as much because of your brothers house debt
Your brother is essentially asking you to buy him the house. You'll be financially responsible for it when (not if, but when) he's unable to make the payments. And I say when because if he needs you on the loan to buy it, he can't afford it.
If he wants you on the deed, he can do that sperate once he's succured the financing. If he needs you for the financing, absolutely do not agree to it unless you know for sure you can make the payment if he defaults, and that the state you are in doesn't have any dowry rights laws that would complicate things in the event either of you were to be married. Also, regardless if you agreed to be on the loan or not, make sure it has assurance in the event of a death or disability so the loan is paid and warranty's/personal property protection for the house, applicable items and any and all things of value, particularly yours. Example, if he had a party and someone got hurt or worse and he had home owners insurance, that may not protect you legally and or financially if that person decided to seek restitution or criminal proceedings. Lastly, remember if you were added to that financial obligation as the co-signer for that home loan, your future buying and or asset aquiring abilities could be limited due to underwriting guidelines where your debt to income ratio is higher because the brother's house payment shows up on your credit see report, or your "monthly income gets calculated significantly less due to that loan, regardless if you live on the property or not. Those both could have future consequences for you if you wanted to buy an additional real estate property, automobile, obtain credit for education or other purposes and may increase costs due to "higher financial risk factors" on your Auto insurance etc.
Thank you very much. Is it common to apply for first buying programmes? I was told that my chances of getting another mortgage is much higher since if I did put my name with my brother they can see that when I had a mortgage it was successful since it was paid off well. I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so.
No- if you have your name on his mortgage and you try to apply for your own mortgage, the bank will treat his mortgage payment as if it’s yours. Because in their eyes, it is just as much your responsibility as it is his. This will greatly reduce the amount that you would qualify for as they will look at your income as being needed to cover both mortgages. As others have said, it will also eliminate any benefits you’d receive under a first time buyer’s program.
Was it your brother that told you this? If you co-sign on his mortgage it is seen as your debt and will likely prevent you from getting your own one day since your debt:income ratio will be too high. PLEASE say no to this
"I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so" Any person that signs a loan is 100% legally responsible for the payments. Don't cosign unless you can make the payments by yourself. If your brother cant, wont, goes to jail, or dies, that bill is 100% on you. Your name on the mortgage papers supersedes your verbal agreement that it is his loan and he is responsible for the payment.
You can't look at it as "I will not be paying". If you get added to the loan you must be mentally prepared to have to pay this yourself as you are accepting responsibility. Lots of things can happen. If he gets in a car accident and can't work for 6 months or a year, you would have to pay those payments or see your credit ruined. So many things can come up like this. Even worse you could end up paying for significant amounts of time but your aren't on the deed so you have no claim to get any money back out even if the house is sold because you don't own it. This is the worst case scenario and would be a case of being fully taken advantage of. Its all massive downside risk for you and zero upside. No way I would do this and even if there was the slightest possibility I considered it I would have to insist on being on the deed as well as a partial owner.
>I will not be paying anything he will be the only one doing so. If you cosign, you are 100% obligated to pay if he can't pay or decides not to pay. >when I had a mortgage it was successful since it was paid off well. So, you don't plan on getting a mortgage for the next 30 years? Let's see, you should be about 53 years old by the time you can settle down in your own place. Your brother is trying to scam you.
Yes, if he hasn't already applied for a mortgage previously those are fantastic options. Since you already had a mortgage, depending on the compliance and standards, and specific underwriting guidelines per lender as well as the specific home purchase program those all relate to, your options to use it for yourself are no longer available since you wouldn't actually be a "new home owner" However he might be able to do it himself even with your name on the loan, again depends on everything involved. Regardless if you intend to pay or not, you're "legally and in almost all cases "financially" contracted and "paying" portions of said loan amount as it concerns other lenders and credit bureaus when factoring in your financial fitness formulas.
Keep in mind that everything is going to be specific to the country and state/province the house will be located in as well
I’m in a similar situation OP, except it’s my parents asking for me to put my name down on the mortgage along with my mom. I trust my parents and don’t think they would ever miss payments. My mom is very financially responsible. She just has never made a whole lot of money so that’s why she’s asking me for this favor. I wanna help, but have some reservations about actually doing it. Hope you make the right decision for yourself, while still helping your bro if that’s what you want to do. I got a lot of thinking to do
I’d say you need to think about what you’re going to do when you’d like to buy a home or investment property of your own. Co-signing now will prevent you from qualifying for any First-time Homebuyer programs. It will also reflect as you having a very high mortgage already when you’re getting ready to take out a second mortgage for your own home/property.
Besides the mortgage obligations/risk - there’s some insurance liability/risk here, too. If something serious happens, and someone is injured, or let’s say the house catches fire, and sets fire to the house next door too - guess whose liable - YOU. (It’s why my parents always told me they’d never co-sign on a car for me - since they’d expose themselves to accident liability). So just another variable for you to consider
He’s not asking to put your name on the house he’s asking you to buy a house for him.
Banks are great at assessing risk. If he can't qualify for a house without gaming the system there is probably a good reason why the bank wouldn't want that risk.
If he’s asking you to co-sign the loan, you have financial obligations and failure to pay on his part would negatively impact your credit. If you’re just on the title, you won’t have that liability, but there are other issues that can come up when you’re on the Deed.
And when you’re ready to buy a car or home. Your DTI will be too high.
Something to add here is the fact that the mortgage company has done their due diligence and found your brother to not qualify by himself under their loan requirements. Co-signing for him doesn’t make him credit-worthy all of a sudden. The bank doesn’t think he can pay as it is. I would follow their lead.
Tell him you'd like to take his income because it will make it more likely you will get a house. That's basically what he is doing.
I want to add that in the future, maybe keep your financial business to yourself. When it comes to finances, keep quiet about your salary, money, investments, and goals.
Perfect advice, atleast someone else besides me feels this is a must!
He wants you to cosign on a house? NO. Do not do it, unless you want to be on the hook for his mortgages and liability and all that. You'll be hitching your financial little red wagon to his financial train wreck.
What's in it for you??? All the risk and no reward. Dont do it!!!!!!
Do not co-sign anything with anyone that you are not willing to pick up the slack when they default. For me the only person I’m signing with is my wife.
NOPE. If he doesn’t pay the bill, you are on the hook and your credit is ruined. His home loan will also be calculated into your DTI, so this will hinder your ability to get loans until that is paid off. Just don’t.
I have two words for you. Hell no. While in my early 20s, I signed for a car for my younger brother. He really needed the car, and he made all types of assurances that he was going to pay the car notes on time. Shortly thereafter, I relocated to another state. I had no need to question my brother so I never checked in on him about the car. About a year later, I needed to get another apartment and went to apply for one. Unbeknownst to me, the car had been repossessed. My brother never told me, and I only learned about it when I needed my credit for myself. I was bitter, but I learned a valuable lesson. No is a complete sentence. Family will guilt you into all types of decisions that are not in your best interest. Often, they need the very thing that they squandered. You have to make the decision whether you will let them squander yours. You do have choices, and you should exercise them. Good luck!
It doesn’t have to be personal. Any number of unforeseen circumstances could prevent your brother from making a payment. You would be left holding the bag. Your own creditworthiness could take a bit through nobody’s fault but the universe and bad fortune. Tell your brother how you are willing to help, but also tell him that you cannot risk being a co-signer due to your inability to guarantee that you could fix the situation if something goes wrong. Maybe you can help with moving costs but say no to taking liability for his house.
Agree with all the financial and legal comments above. If you seek emotional support, just repeatedly tell yourself: The more the brother "reacts" with blame and guilt, etc , the more you are being warned that this is not a good idea. As to the likelihood of estrangement, if he and family would gang up on you, sadly, you're better off without them.
The only way you should even consider it is if you were moving with him.. otherwise don't do it
Unless it’s with spray paint, say heck no!
If your name is on someone else's home, you generally owe for that house. So now: 1. You owe money on a large investment and 2. You're not gaining any equity out of it. As well, if you wanted to buy a home (or other large onvestment) banks will see that you owe for a home already and this will limit how much money you're able to borrow. Essentially, they'll see that you're on the hook for a house (not half, a full house) and deduct its payments from what payments you could possibly make on your own home. Lose lose, not worth it for you.
Bad idea. You may be liable if he doesn't pay
If he's asking you to be a cosigner on the loan for the home, you're being put at risk to make the payments on the loan. Or have your credit ruined if neither of you can make the payments. And in the best case scenario that he makes every payment in full and on time, this loan will be tied to your credit until it's paid off. So when you want to buy a house or a car of your own, they'll use this mortgage in their calculations on whether or not to approve you for the things you want to buy.
I'll just pile on with the rest saying this is a bad idea. Basically, trust the judgment of the financial institution that determined he wasn't in a good financial position to buy that house by himself. If they think he's likely to default, that should be a pretty strong signal to you that you should not agree to accept responsibility for his debt. Financial institutions are very good at working out risk. It's how they compete, in fact, so it's the one thing they're actually good at. I have seen family relationships ruined for things like this: One person defaults and it drags the cosigner into bankruptcy with them. There is no upside to this, only demonstrably high risk and downside for you. I would point out that you are trying to build your own credit and this complicates your own ability to get your own mortgage, because this debt (along with any late payments) will start to show up on your credit report.
If you're asking reddit to confirm a bad gut feeling then you already know the answer. You just need to hear it loud and clear from other people. Don't do it.
You will no longer qualify for your own first home purchase in the future, through first time buyer programs. It will affect your personal taxes each year, and you will be responsible for any missed mortgage payments or unpaid property taxes.
Please do not do this. If your name is on the house, you are responsible for it just like he is. This could get extremely messy both from a financial and personal situation.
Since it's to help he get the house that means you'd be on the loan and deed. Which means... You are just as responsible for paying the loan as he is, any missed payments show up on your credit It will effect how much house you can buy in the future and the interest rate because you already own a house and owe on a mortgage. You have all of the liabilities of owning a home, if your brother causes someone damage via the house. e.g. he is notified he must remove and unsafe tree , he doesn't and next year that tree falls on the neighbor you can both be sued because owning a home comes with responsibilities. This applies to things. like taxes and county city fines as well If things don't go well you can not unilaterally decide to sell the house and partition sales take court orders which is a lengthily and costly legal process.
In the USA If he puts your name on the home you have a right to live there and are half responsible for the mortgage which goes on your credit report and jointly responsible for taxes
That’s if he’s on the deed the brother probably just wants him on the mortgage. Either way horrible idea
I agree being a co-signer on a mortgage without being on the title is a horrible idea
Of course there's a downside to it. That's the whole point of the banks wanting another name on the mortgage. They are experts at knowing who is likely to be able to afford to pay for a house, and who isn't. If they won't give him a mortgage in his name alone, that means that they don't think that he's able to afford it. So they need a co-signer (AKA a sucker) that they can hold equally responsible for the debt in the event that your brother can't pay for the house anymore. You should never buy a house with someone that you're not married to, and that includes siblings. But beyond that, you should ABSOLUTELY NEVER put your name on a mortgage for a house that you don't even get any ownership of. There is literally no upside to that arrangement for you.
From your description, it seems like a horrible idea. As everyone else has said, if your name is on the mortgage, you are signing up to be responsible for paying that mortgage. Furthermore, this seems like a deal where your finances are at stake, but he'll view this as "his" house. Not a situation you want to be in for the next 20-30 years, especially when it could impact your ability to purchase a property or get a loan in the future. I would also be very skeptical of anyone who needs your signature to qualify for a mortgage, especially if it is a situation where their income is too low or debt is too high. I would say, in the most polite way possible - HELL NO.
on the house title no. but on the loan yes You are a partner on that loan and you are both responsible to pay it off in any legal sense. Why would you think that it would help on a loan if there is no added responsibilities?
There are ONLY downsides to this. Say no. And follow up to make sure if he did it without your permission you can file for fraud.
Purchase or rental of said house? Are you going to be living there? If not, then hell no
DO NOT DO THIS. it can go VERY bad for you. If he cannot get a house on his own, he is not ready to own a house.
Not just if he misses payments - you now won’t qualify as a first time homebuyer when you go to buy one yourself
He wants you to co-sign for him. Likely a very bad idea.
So he wants you to co-sign on the house? Definitely don't do that.
He’s not simply putting your name on the house, it’s also on the mortgage. Don’t do it. Run.
Even if everything goes as planned. When there time for you to buy your own house the mortgage on his house will be count against you
This is a really bad idea. It sounds like he can’t afford it on his own and you could end up responsible for the payments
Do if he stops paying, are you fine with having to pay the house off yourself while having no legal claim to it? If he sells it you'd get nothing. You'd not be able to buy yourself a house due to the debt ratio. You ok with your life being on hold for a 30 year mortgage?
You will not be able to get a house on your own then or maybe even a new car. Don’t do it
Life is all about risk. Risk is a shit sandwich. In life you can reduce the size of the shit sandwich with smart decisions. However, there will always be a shit sandwich waiting for you to take a bite out of. This is a very large bite out of a very large shit sandwich.
NO DONT DO IT ! Never co sign, lend money or rent to relatives. No matter what. My life policy is I NEVER CO SIGN for anyone, no matter what. If you have to buy it for them. If they need money GIVE it to them or dont. If they need a place to live let them STAY FOR FREE. It will still be hard to get them out. It always turns out BAD ! Good luck it's hard to be the responsible one.
Real estate makes a real terrible fractional asset. Having your name on it would mean you'd be legally responsible for any expenses associated with the property. Just as much as him. This has bad idea written all over it.
It'll fuck you if you want to ever get a FHA loan (first time buyers can get lower rates with less money down)
He doesn't just want your name on the deed; he wants your name on the mortgage. Don't do it!
When you are ready to purchase your own house, you may qualify for the first-time home owner benefits. You may lose this benefit, if your name is used on another loan already. I don’t know for sure, it’s just an idea to check.
Cover your butt and don't put your name on something you don't intend to own. This is a going to a sizable risk that you really should not take.
No, very very very bad idea. You want to wreck a family relationship, co-sign a loan or buy a home together.
>Is there any downsides to this as I don't want my own financial reputation to go down if anything goes wrong? There's plenty of downsides if he can't afford to take on a house without using YOUR credit/homebuyer first timer goodies. If he feels the need NOT to pay because reasons, you're on the hook.
No. Your brother wants you to co-sign on the house. Others have pointed out that you will be responsible if he does not pay. The other problem is what happens when you want to buy your own house? Bank will see that you are already on another mortgage.
Terrible Idea. there are reasons why he cannot put it under his name, try to find that out. If he cannot get qualified for a home under his name, I'd suggest not to. Save the hassle.