12 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Taking On A Loan

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Can a co-signer help out here?

If your credit score is so low that you can’t increase it to “good standing” quick enough to capitalize on good rates, you do have another option. You could get a co-signer. This could be a family member or a generous friend. A co-signer with good credit and high income makes the lender more comfortable giving you this loan and giving you a better rate. The downside is that, if you default on payments, your co-signer will be held responsible for those. So if getting a co-signer could mean getting a much better rate that saves you thousands over the term of this loan, it’s worth looking into. But for ethical reasons, do not take one on unless you know with near certainty that none of the financial burden of this loan will ever fall on them. My husband and I were on the fence about getting a parent to co-sign so we could qualify for a refinance on our mortgage. We ultimately decided against it because the savings wouldn’t be enough to justify putting that burden on somebody else.