When you co-sign a loan, you're basically saying "I trust this person, but just in case, here's my credit score as collateral." Ann from Ann Arbor, Michigan, is now learning that lesson the hard way.
She called into "The Ramsey Show" with a situation that's equal parts frustrating and familiar: her son stopped paying his condo mortgage after losing his job in April. Because she co-signed the loan with her ex-husband, she's been covering the payments to protect her pristine 820 credit score. The remaining balance? About $30,000.
Personal finance personality Dave Ramsey didn't sugarcoat his reaction. "This is about the laziest human I've run into," he said.
A Pattern That Started Years Ago
This isn't the first time Ann has bailed out her son. He bought the condo back in 2004, but fell behind about a decade ago and entered forbearance that she helped support. Now history is repeating itself.
When Ann described her son as "unable" to pay since his April job loss, co-host John Delony pressed her on the language. Unable or unwilling? Ann admitted he was physically capable of working. That distinction matters quite a bit.
Ann revealed she's made most of the recent mortgage payments, while her ex-husband covered three. Her son, meanwhile, doesn't want to sell the condo, even though his mother remains on the hook for any missed payments. Ramsey pointed out the obvious problem: she can't force a sale because her son owns the property. Delony added that her son is dragging his feet precisely because she stepped in before and keeps covering the payments.
What Are Ann's Options?
Ann asked what she could do without putting her credit at risk. She first estimated the condo's value at around $40,000 to $45,000, then revised that upward, saying her son "would be lucky" to get $60,000 for it. With about $30,000 remaining on the loan and 11 years left to pay, there's at least some equity in the property.
Ramsey suggested one clear path: Ann could buy the condo herself at an appraised value, then relist it and exit the loan entirely. Ann said she could afford to buy it but wasn't sure if that was the right move.
The Tough Love Approach
Ramsey laid out Ann's reality in stark terms. If she keeps paying, she stays tied to the loan indefinitely. If she stops, foreclosure follows because her name is on it. Delony noted that the repeated financial bailouts have damaged her relationship with her son, turning what should be a parent-child bond into a creditor-debtor dynamic.
Ramsey's advice: give her son an ultimatum. Either sell the condo to her at an appraised price or start making the payments himself. He emphasized that covering the monthly payment doesn't require significant income, saying someone could "do Uber one day a month and pull this off."
The larger point? Sometimes protecting your credit score means protecting it from the people you love most, even when that's the hardest conversation to have.
