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The Fatal Mistake When Moving In Together

So your perfectly reliable and awesome friend got turned down for an apartment – what an outrage! Who does that landlord think he is, basing your friend's ability to pay rent on nothing more than a few statistics? Come on, it's not like he does it for a living – it's not like his entire livelihood depends upon keeping paying tenants and kicking out the rest. He's the idiot. You've known your friend for years, they wouldn't leave you high and dry – right? Ah... famous last words.

Cold Hard Facts About Co-Signing Rent

Facts about co-signingIt doesn't matter if you're co-signing with your brother or your “soul mate” - the landlord has a very strong case against renting an apartment to them, and that case is based in facts. It is the landlord's job, day in and day out, to find people who can pay rent reliably. Sure he's desperate to fill that apartment, but he would rather place a tenant in it that will stay more than a few months because re-cleaning and re-listing the apartment is not exactly top on his list of favorite things to do. Not to mention all the costs and losses associated with evictions or a lease default. No, the landlord doesn't want to take a chance on your friend – but if someone else is willing to cough up the dough (that's you) when Mr. Proven Unreliable doesn't come through, well then by all means have the apartment. The landlord doesn't care where the money comes from, just that the money comes.

Video: What you need to know about co-signing a loan

How Could It Go Wrong?

Not only has the landlord determined that your friend, brother, sister, or third cousin's former step brother isn't reliable enough to come up with rent, but you are also entering into a brand spanking new living relationship with this person. You know how they say money problems usually mean the end of relationships? Well, that applies to non-romantic relationships too. Of course, if the relationship goes awry for any other reason you better believe they will move themselves out and leave you stuck with the bill. Living with someone new isn't easy, even if you have known them for years – and co-signing on rent is a very bad foot to start living together. You may think of it as a debt, or someone could get ungrateful. Either way, this just has disaster written all over the lease.

Video: Whose debt is it, anyway?

What's The Worst That Could Happen?

If you don't value your credit score now, you certainly will once your friend skips out on the rent. Not only will it leave an ugly scar on your credit report, but you could also end up with an eviction on your record or owing a lot of money to your former landlord. Don't forget you're not just paying rent, you also have utility bills and luxury bills like television and Internet services – if your friend defaults on the rent, what are the chances those bills got paid? You could end up owing a lot of money to a lot of different people, all the while unable to get any more utilities or apartments in your name – all because you thought you knew better than the landlord's tried and true tenant screening system. The worst that could happen is you lose your roommate but gain lots of his debt.

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