Help, I Need to Get the Cosigner Off My Car Loan!

how to get a cosigner off a car loan

We’ve had many readers write in after a divorce and ask how to split their assets with an ex-spouse. One of the most common questions is how to remove an ex or another cosigner from a car loan and title. Here’s how to go about it.

What’s the Role of a Cosigner?

It can be challenging to remove a cosigner from a loan. To gain a better understanding of why, let’s look at why a cosigner is used at all. Essentially, a cosigner is needed when the borrowers own credit and/or income isn’t enough to qualify for the loan by himself or herself. The cosigner, presumably, has stronger credit and income, and is required by the lender or creditor to help guarantee that the loan will be repaid.

Loans involving a cosigner include a cosigners notice. The notice asks that the cosigner guarantee the debt. This means that if the original borrower fails to make payments on the debt, then the cosigner becomes responsible for the balance. The cosigner then is obligated to make payments until the debt is paid when the borrower can’t.

Co-signing a loan is risky for the cosigner, because it can affect the cosigner’s credit if the borrower doesn’t satisfy the debt and the cosigner has to take over. The debt can ultimately affect the cosigner’s credit scores and access to revolving credit, such as credit cards.

Before co-signing a loan, a cosigner should be sure that he/she is able to comfortably take on the monthly payments if it comes to that. The cosigner should also make sure he/she doesn’t need to get a loan of his/her own over the course of the cosigned loans terms.  Cosigning on the borrower’s debt will affect the cosigner’s overall credit utilization and ability to secure other credit opportunities in the meantime.

Now that you know the role of a co-signer let’s look at what you can do to remove them from a car loan if needed.

Refinance the Car Loan to Get the Cosigner Off

You may be able to refinance a car loan in your own name to get your cosigner off the loan. In essence, you’ll buy the car from your ex-spouse and go through the car buying process again.

The spouse who is responsible for the car loan payments, the primary signer, should ideally assume credit liability for the loan. It’s a also good idea to go through this process right away, regardless of what your divorce decree states.

Divorce decrees (or court orders) don’t release either person from his/her obligations under the original contract of the loan. That means that if you and your ex-spouse have a joint account, like a car loan, and if the spouse who is supposed to pay doesn’t, the negative credit history will end up on both of your credit reports, and those late payments will damage both of your credit ratings. In fact, the other person may not know about the unpaid account until a collection agency calls.

Removing your ex from the car’s title, if the car already paid for, is similar and requires working with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). You’ll both need to sign a change of title/vehicle ownership form and return it for processing. You can check online or call your state’s DMV for details and forms.

In some states you can file a transfer of title between family members, if the divorce has not been finalized yet. A transfer of title lets you avoid getting any needed inspections or certifications and paying taxes on the vehicle based on the purchase price. (If you live in the state of California, for example, research changing vehicle ownership versus transferring a car title.)

See if You Have a Cosigner Release Option

Some car loans include conditions that remove the cosigner’s obligation after a specified number of on-time payments are made by the primary borrower.

If you’re unsure if this is an option, talk to the lender and check any loan documents you have. The cosigner release option is probably one of the easiest methods of taking a co-signers name off a car loan.

Pay Off the Loan

Another option to get a cosigner off a car loan is to pay off the loan either directly or by selling the car. If you sell the car, you can use the money to pay off the loan. With luck, the sale value of the car will be sufficient to cover the remainder of the loan.

Be aware that if you are the cosigner, and the primary borrower fails to make payments, you can likely seize the asset and sell it.

This article was originally published February 20, 2013, and has since been updated by another author.

Image: iStockphoto

The post Help, I Need to Get the Cosigner Off My Car Loan! appeared first on Credit.com.

Source: credit.com

How Much Does a Cosigner Help with Getting Auto Loans or Better Loan Terms?

A woman in a bright yellow dress drives a silver car.

Imagine you’re shopping for a new car and finally find a reasonably priced set of wheels that you like. But when the dealer pulls your credit, that seemingly affordable monthly payment is no longer available to you. Instead, you’re offered a subprime car loan at 10% or even 20% interest because your credit isn’t strong enough to get a better rate.

How much does a cosigner help on auto loans when you’re facing this type of situation? Get more information below to help you decide whether seeking a cosigner is the right option for you.

How Does a Cosigner on a Loan Work?

A cosigner is basically someone who backs the loan. They sign agreeing that if you don’t make the payments as promised, they will step in to pay them.

If you don’t have much of a credit history or your credit is bad or poor, lenders are typically hesitant to give you an auto loan. They perceive you as risky. Will you pay as agreed? There’s not enough data or credit history for them to make that call.

However, a cosigner with a long history of good credit is different. The lender is more likely to believe that this person willpay as agreed. So, if you can get a cosigner to back you, you might have a better chance of getting a loan or getting better terms.

How Much Does a Cosigner Help With an Auto Loan?

How much can you save? Imagine you finance $37,851, the average price for a new light vehicle in the United States as of February 2020.

The average interest rate as of the end of 2019 for new car loans was 5.76%. If you’re able to get that interest rate and a loan term of 72 months—that’s 6 years—you would pay a total of $44,742. That’s $6,891 in interest and a monthly payment of around $621.

If you financed at 10% without a cosigner for the same terms, you’d pay a total of $50,488 for the vehicle. That’s $12,637 in interest and around $701 in monthly payments.

This is obviously just an example, but you can see that a cosigner can save you a lot. In this case, it’s $80 a month and more than $5,700 total.

Cosigner Versus Co-Applicant

It’s important to note that having a cosigner for a car loan is not the same thing as having a co-applicant. A co-applicant buys the vehicle with you. Their credit history and income are used alongside yours to determine if you, together, can afford the vehicle. The co-applicant also has an equal share of ownership in the vehicle purchased with the loan.

A cosigner, on the other hand, doesn’t have an ownership share in the vehicle. Their income may also not be a factor in the approval. Typically, they’re along only to provide a boost in the overall credit outlook.

What Are Some Downsides of Having a Cosigner?

Most of the risks or disadvantages are held by the cosigner. If you don’t pay the loan, they could become responsible for it. They could also suffer from a lower credit score if you’re late with car payments because it might get reported to their credit too.

As a borrower, you might experience a few disadvantages in using a cosigner. First, you have to get someone to agree to this, and you typically want it to be someone with good credit. Trusted family members are the most common cosigners, but that could mean that they might want to have a say in what type of vehicle you get.

And if something happens and you can’t pay the vehicle loan for any reason, you run a personal risk. You could damage your relationship with the cosigner if they do end up having to pay off the loan or face damage to their credit.

So, Should You Get a Cosigner for an Auto Loan?

The decision is personal. Before you do anything, check your credit and understand where you are financially. That helps you know what your chances for getting approved for a loan are on your own and how much loan you might be able to afford.

Then, check out some potential auto loans and consider whether you should apply for them on your own. If you know your credit is too poor or you try to apply for a loan and don’t get favorable terms, talk to a potential cosigner. Be honest about your situation and have a plan to pay the loan on time each month so they feel more confident supporting you as you make this purchase.

The post How Much Does a Cosigner Help with Getting Auto Loans or Better Loan Terms? appeared first on Credit.com.

Source: credit.com