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Mortgage-Matters

Co-signing a mortgage

With the new tighter mortgage qualifying rate at 5.25% and today’s high-priced real estate, it can be very difficult to qualify for a mortgage.

Even with good income and some funds saved for a down payment you may not qualify for the mortgage amount you require to get into the type of property you want to own.

As a result you may require a co-signer, but here’s what you and your co-signer need to know about them signing onto your mortgage.

  • If you are unable to make the payments for any reason, your co-signer will be expected to make them on your behalf. By signing the mortgage documents, they have assumed full responsibility for the payments.
  • Whether someone is the principal borrower, co-borrower, guarantor or co-signor, if you’re on the mortgage, you’re 100% responsible for the debt of the mortgage and everything that goes along with that. A co-signer has all the same legal obligations as everyone else on the mortgage.
  • If payments aren’t being made, there is a chance the lender will take legal action against the co-signer. This includes all available collection methods, such as obtaining a judgment in court or garnisheeing wages or bank accounts. They could even go after the co-signer’s property or assets in order to cover the losses.
  • When you co-sign for a mortgage, all of the debt of the co-signed mortgage is counted against you. This means that if you’re looking to buy another property in the future, you will have to include the payments of the co-signed mortgage in your debt service ratios, even though you aren’t the one making the payments. This could significantly impact the amount you can borrow in the future.
  • Once the initial term has been completed, the co-signer will not automatically be removed from the mortgage. The person who was co-signed for will have to make a new application for the mortgage in their own name and qualify on their own merit. If they don’t qualify at this time, the co-signer will be kept on the mortgage for the next term.

There are also other potential issues to take into consideration before signing on to someone’s mortgage, and it’s prudent to seek both tax and legal advice from professionals.

  • There can be implications with respect to your personal income taxes. You may accumulate an obligation to pay capital gains taxes down the road. This should be discussed this with your tax accountant.
  • Co-signing may impact Land Transfer Tax Rebates for first-time homebuyers.
  • You are entrusting your credit history to another party.

Before co-signing for any debt, please ensure you fully understand all of the potential implications and how it could affect you personally.

I am happy to have a conversation if you are considering co-signing on a mortgage so please give me a call at 1-888-561-2679.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.



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About the Author

April Dunn is the owner and a Mortgage Broker with The Red Door Mortgage Group – Mortgage Architects. For over two decades, she has been helping clients to arrange their financing to purchase a home, refinance, or renew their mortgages. Drawing from her extensive experience as a Credit Union manager, a Residential Mortgage Manager with a large financial institution, and as a Mortgage Broker, April has the necessary expertise to design a tailored mortgage plan with features and options that cater to each client's individual needs. April offers a complete range of residential and commercial mortgage financing services to clients throughout British Columbia and the rest of Canada through her affiliation with the Mortgage Architects network.

Contact e-mail address: [email protected] or by phone at: 1-888-561-2679.

Website: www.reddoormortgage.com



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The views expressed are strictly those of the author and not necessarily those of Castanet. Castanet does not warrant the contents.

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