Does LightStream allow cosigners?

LightStream does not allow cosigners, but does offer joint applications. With a joint application, both applicants’ credit, income and other details are weighed equally during the approval process. And both people are held equally responsible for paying the loan back. This differs from applying with a cosigner, where approval depends entirely on the cosigner’s information, rather than the primary applicant’s. And with a cosigner, the primary applicant is responsible for payments while the cosigner just serves as a guarantor in case they can’t pay the loan back.

To add a joint applicant on a LightStream application, just find the dropdown box at the top of the application under “Application type” and select “Joint Application.” You should see a message pop up that says “By selecting ‘Joint,’ you are applying for joint credit and are relying on joint income and assets as the basis for repayment of the credit requested.” Then, once you get to the “Personal Information” page, you’ll be able to input details for both you and your fellow applicant.

If you are approved for a joint loan with LightStream, you can pay from either person’s bank account. You are even allowed to split up payments so that you each pay a portion, according to LightStream representatives. It’s important to keep in mind that with a joint LightStream loan, the payment history on the loan will appear on both people’s credit reports. So a missed payment will hurt both borrowers’ credit scores.