With economy the way it is today, you’re going to find it harder and harder to actually find a cosigner for your loan.  By now, you probably already know what a cosigner is.  When you don’t qualify for a loan because of your own personal credit issues, a lending institution will give you the loan if you find a cosigner with good enough credit.  The problem with this is that it’s a little hard to find someone that will actually do this for you.

Start talking with family- The first people you want to go to when looking for a cosigner is direct family.  Relatives like your Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister are all good starting points.  These people are going to know you the best and will be able to give you a straight yes or no answer.  If they deny you, ask them why.  Obviously, if you’re bad with your money or you have some nasty drug habit, you’re going to find no one that’s willing to lend to you.

Try your friends – If you’re not comfortable with family, try some of your closest friends.  Explain to them your situation and what you’re doing to fix it.  Let them know why you need the money.  Depending on how the nice the friend is will depend if they say yes or no.

Make up a legal contract – If you’re having no luck with a cosigner, there are some things that you can do in order to improve your chances of finding one.  Tell your friends or family that you’ll write up a legal contract explaining that you’ll pay them back plus some if you don’t make the payments.  Sometimes, when you throw in a legal document, some people will agree to it but it doesn’t always work.  This is always something that you can try out.

Shop around some more – Most banks work the same way but did you shop around at more than 3-5 banks?  If you did then you’ll probably need that cosigner but if you’ve only been to 1-2 banks then you’ll probably want to shop around some more because some banks may actually lend to you without that cosigner.

Finding a cosigner is hard.  You need a cosigner for a reason and it’s probably because of your shady credit history.  If the free giving banks can’t trust you, what makes you think that your friends and family will?  If you find you can’t get a loan, try focusing on what’s important like rebuilding your credit or start saving up money.