You read the headline (right?!), so you probably already have some Big Feelings about the situation. We know we did. And before we get into the details of this unbelievable Reddit post, we just have to acknowledge how hard it is to buy a home. And how expensive and inaccessible it is.
Keeping that in mind, we understand why the parents in this Reddit post could [seemingly] be unable to take out a mortgage on their own. But while we can understand their problem, Reddit can’t understand their proposed solution.
A Big Request
The man who originally posted (the “OP”) on the “Am I The A—hole? (AITA)” subreddit said that his 40-year-old parents asked him to cosign their mortgage “to seal the deal.”
“Both have dreamed of having a house since I can remember,” OP said. “Now they have saved up [about $120 thousand] over the years. But that’s not enough to get a house around our area.”
An Important Factor
OP is only 19 years old. Nineteen. Take a second to let that sink in. He’s not old enough to drink alcohol because his brain isn’t fully developed. And yet, his parents (and possibly a bank!) think he’s old enough to make a major financial decision.
Another Big One
Another issue (beyond his age and the outrageous request), is that OP and his parents don’t even get along.
“I’ve never been fond of my parents. My father has always been this angry distant person all of my life. And my mother is worse.”
How It Went Down
OP’s parents asked him to cosign their mortgage and he “refused outright.”
“[My mom] went ballistic,” OP wrote before listing out the things she said. “‘I’ve never seen a child so selfish,’ ‘What have we been raising you for,’ ‘Don’t you care about us.'”
“She went on and on.”
A New Plan
OP told his mom that he wouldn’t cosign the mortgage but that he would instead give them some money each month in order to help with the mortgage.
“She said that wasn’t good enough…She told me to never call her mom again.”
Reddit’s Reaction
Reddit reacted in a totally unprecedented way. We’ve seen them staunchly defend one side, we’ve seen them say that “everyone sucks here” (ESH), and we’ve seen them offer hilariously petty advice.
But what we’ve never seen is thousands of Redditors band together to plead that an OP take a very particular and legitimate course of action.
“NTA, and please do NOT sign anything!” the top comment said simply. And the rest followed suit.
“Don’t do this! Never co-sign anything for anyone unless you are 100% comfortable with you being on the hook for all of the payments and none of the benefits. It’s beyond unreasonable for mid-40s parents to expect their teenage son to cosign a mortgage. Them cosigning for your mortgage would be reasonable (but still unwise) but the other way around is insane.”
“Don’t ever cosign especially for a mortgage, there’s too much risk and you’ll never be able to get one yourself until this is paid off.”
“Do. Not. Sign. Anything!!!…Don’t let them talk you into ‘it’s just a signature, you don’t actually have to do anything’ kind of stuff, because that is 100% not how it works.”
“If you cosign on a mortgage, you likely aren’t getting approved for a second one without some bonkers income. OP signs that, he isn’t buying a house until his parents’ house is paid off or refinanced. You’d have to be either an entirely ignorant person or a selfish parent to put that sh*t on your kid.”
“You can tell already the parents are going to get OP on the mortgage and quit paying and be like, ‘If you don’t pay it, it f’s your credit and we lose the house.’ Total blackmail potential here.'”
Because yes, if the current blackmail is that OP can’t use the word “mom,” just imagine what the blackmail will be when his credit is on the line. No matter how much your parents try to reel you in, the internet is begging you not to do this, OP.
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