I agree with Brad. We don't do co-signers in the traditional sense: we just have them sign the lease as co-tenants/roommates/whatever.
We've used co-signers in the past, and it works out about 50% of the time. The other 50% end up in lease breaks or early move-outs. I've had to file eviction a few times. Here's how it usually goes.
The person who needed the co-signer isn't responsible enough to pay the rent, which is why they needed the co-signer in the first place. After 3-6 months, shockingly, occupant tenant stop paying rent. Then I have to go after the co-signer. After 3 months or so of paying the deadbeat's rent, the co-signer gets sick of it and decides they want out of the deal.
No way. They're locked in at this point. NEVER, EVER take a co-signer off the lease. I cannot stress that point enough. Once the deadbeat stops paying, the co-signer is the ONLY WAY you'll ever get paid. There's no reason to take them off anyway. If the occupant tenant pays, there's no negative effect on the co-signer. If the occupant tenant doesn't pay, the co-signer is the only way you'll get paid.
The only reason co-signers want off the lease is that they are afraid of what will happen if the occupant tenant stops paying. If they are afraid, you should be afraid too.
My criteria for cosigners.
1) Excellent credit (720 or higher). No late pays, no collections, no bankruptcies. I want to see zero negatives on the report.
2) Must have at least 2x the rent in disposable income AFTER all of their household expenses are met. I determine this by looking at the most recent 3 months of bank statements and ensure the balance never dips below 2x the rent for my rental unit. That shows me they have margin and aren't living paycheck to paycheck.
3) Must live in the same county as the rental or an adjacent county. This is so we can get them served papers should it become necessary.
4) Must own their own home.
All of the above are non-negotiable. There's no point in having a marginal co-signer. We don't do a lot of co-signers any more. The ones who meet the criteria and who are crazy enough to sign on for someone else are few and far between, and the hassle often isn't worth it. I do maximum security deposit instead, if the person's issues are what I call "fixable".
Fixable issues include:
1) No rental history
2) Less than 90 days on current job
3) No credit history
Unfixable issues include:
1) Insufficient income
2) Bad credit
3) Bad landlord references
4) Evictions
5) Fails criminal background check
And so forth...
--70.57.xx.xxx