[rolfgostoso]

Hello,

i have been asked to co sign a private student loan, and i would like to know all the conseauences in case the studetn who already has other loans and is an international student does not pay, and i cannot pay.... if the loan goes in default.... can i be sued , will i go to jail, will i lose my business , things like that...;

[aaron]

If you cosign on a loan and the borrower defaults, you can be held responsible for the unpaid balance, interest, fees, etc.

It is possible to be sued for that balance after default, and you should assume that it would appear on your credit report

[deleon]

I worked as a financial aid officer for over 4.5 years. Yes, you would be responsible for the student loans if the borrower cannot or does not pay. I would have these issues all the time with international students. In order to get most of the alternative loans/funding they had to have a U.S. co-signer. it was extremely hard for them to find people will to take that risk.

If the student does not pay, the co-signer is then responsible. I dont' think jail would be likely. But I guarantee it will effect your credit, it will show up on your credit report, they could potentially garnish wages etc.

Now private alternative loans are different then federal stafford sub/unsub loans. In that Federal Stafford students loans CANNOT be apart of any bankruptcy, whereas alternative loans/private loans I believe can be. With the Federal Stafford loans the government could do just about anything to get their money. We had cases where the student defaulted, the persons pay was garnished, the government could potentially take away the person license etc.

Unless you really know the person well (and even then It's a touchy situation). When money is involved, unless it is family and even then that brings up other issues. Good luck with your decision. It is a hard one.