I looked at the highlighted co-signer line and pushed the folder back across the table. “No.” Mom stared at me as though she had misheard. Tyler immediately reminded me that family was supposed to help family. I asked whether that rule had existed when I needed a down payment. Dad told me not to “keep score,” but the problem was no longer the $60,000. Tyler had already borrowed against the house, lost money on a failed renovation, and now they wanted my credit attached to decisions I had never made.
Mom started crying. She said Tyler could lose everything. I told her signing would not cost me nothing; it would tie my finances to his debt and could threaten the properties I had spent years building. If Tyler needed help, he could sell the house, negotiate with the lender, or downsize. What I would not do was place six rental doors and my own home behind someone else’s promise to become responsible later.
