Can someone in another country co-sign for a loan? (recourse, cosigner, credit report)

[Lizita]

I think I know the answer to this question but I thought it doesn't hurt to ask of those who may know. What I'm trying to find out is if a family member in Europe could co-sign for a mortgage for me in the US?

I also have another question. Due to periods of financial difficulty my credit is pretty bad. Last I checked my credit rating was about 650. Not good. How long would it take to repair my credit enough to be able to qualify for a mortgage, a lower end mortgage? Would five years be an unreasonable amount of time?

[Lacerta]

650 isn't terrible, but not fantastic either. If you talk to a lender, they can look at your actual report and give you some tips on what steps to take to improve your score. In 5 years, you could improve it a lot. You could likely improve it substantially in 2 years, and depending on what your negatives are, possibly even in less time than that.

For the cosigner, I'm not sure, but my guess would be probably not unless the loan was from an international company in the first place. But it also might depend on the circumstances. If the family member was a US citizen who was currently living abroad, that might be handled differently. Each lender is going to have their own rules. I haven't seen anyone get a mortgage with a cosigner in the first place in such a long time I can't even remember the last one. Are lenders even doing loans with cosigners at all anymore?

[Book Lover 21]

I wouldn't count on your lender to help you improve your score. Some of these people are frankly, just lackeys. This website is a good way to research and learn what is holding you back:

Credit Basics

My bank would not accept an overseas co-signer. The reason is, there is no recourse. If, for example, a French citizen co-signs your loan. What is the worst case scenario for them? There will be no black mark on their credit report, because they don't have a US credit report and US companies don't report on French credit reporting agencies.

[Kaur]

Could someone co-sign for Loan from another "city"? Or do they have to come here to sign any papers?

[chancellor14]

Originally Posted by Kaur

Could someone co-sign for Loan from another "city"? Or do they have to come here to sign any papers?

Nobody should co-sign anything for you. It indicates you have bad credit.

[Elke Mariotti]

Originally Posted by chancellor14

Nobody should co-sign anything for you. It indicates you have bad credit.

While I agree that co-signing is generally not a good idea, there are exceptions.

However, it does not necessarily indicate that the applicant's credit is bad - an applicant can have an 800 credit score but not enough income to justify the amount of the requested/required loan.

[chancellor14]

Originally Posted by Elke Mariotti

While I agree that co-signing is generally not a good idea, there are exceptions.

However, it does not necessarily indicate that the applicant's credit is bad - an applicant can have an 800 credit score but not enough income to justify the amount of the requested/required loan.

Yes that also it indicates that the applicant is a huge risk. I wouldn't co-sign anything for the op and I think it's selfish that they would even ask.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by Kaur

Could someone co-sign for Loan from another "city"? Or do they have to come here to sign any papers?

Yes they can sign in another city and country.

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by thelopez2

Yes they can sign in another city and country.

They can sign a document in another city or country but no US lending institution will accept a foreign cosigner unless they have substantial financial ties to the US.

[SmartMoney]

Folks, you cannot, repeat, cannot use a coborrower to overcome derogatory credit. Coborrowers are used only to supplement income for ratios.

Out of the country coborrowers are very difficult because the lender must already have a relationship with them, as all lenders must confirm identity per the Patriot Act. Yes Ambassador Seals exist, but many lenders, title compsnies, and courthouses are not prepared to deal with them. You the have the challenge of finding a title company accepting a POA or other document they did not prepare. The POA must also specify a defined property. So, for all the logistics, the short answer is no.