Girlfriend is taking out and paying a loan for her brothers wedding?

patanne

This isn't going to end well! If she can't pay it back it will be your credit rating too that will get messed up as you are financially linked. Who is going to pay for your wedding? The brother in Canada or her parents in India? No - thought not. Did I read it right that the brother doesn't even know where the money is coming from? If he doesn't then who is he going to repay it to?

ratrace

whitecloud663 wrote: »

I know it all sounds bad but it isn't as bad as it seems. The wedding will be in India not in the UK and the total cost of the wedding is around £10-12k. Registry is out of the question, as the soon to be husband/wife are settling in Canada. The parents are providing the rest of the funds and I believe the brother is providing a little bit too.

Clearly for them showing face in India is a top priority and so hosting a wedding FOR THEM is important. Here on out there shouldn't be any more further financial 'unnecessary' requests as the brother will be in Canada and the parents in India.

I think its better for him to know that the money is coming from your other half, than way he may feel that's not fair on her and quite possibly persuade the parents to pay a larger share

Its really non of our business on how much,where or who is getting married, Its all about the loan and and if it can be paid back with interest

Your girlfriend seems quite keen on helping her family out which i really respect im a big believer in helping each other out it makes life easier having said that it should free risk free on her part - getting a loan for someone else when there is no guarantee if and when they can pay it back is not Risk Free

merikiito

No, No and No, tell her brother to go do one and fund his own wedding. you are not in a position to fund this and should not do so. To be honest I would rather lose the girlfriend that get into debt with little chance of it being paid back. Even more so if she already owes money, lose her and quick about it

merikiito

Does she have any more brothers? If so expect the same again. Make sure you are not in anyway connected to this loan as well as I can see this not ending well

notanewby

whitecloud663 wrote: »

I know it all sounds bad but it isn't as bad as it seems.

If anything, it is WORSE than it seems.

This will end with your girlfriend losing £6,000.

That is the only outcome here.

Voyager2002

Clearly the big wedding is important for the family and that is not something you can argue about. The only useful discussion is about how to finance it...

It might well make sense for your GF to use her ISA: probably the amount of interest she is earning on it is pitiful, whereas if she were to borrow money she would pay a substantial amount in interest. However, it might be better if her parents do take out a mortgage: the interest rate is unlikely to be high, while the brother and the rest of the extended family will see very clearly that repaying a mortgage makes a lot of sense for the whole family and so might be willing to help with this. I fear that few of them will see repaying your GF as a high priority since in the final analysis she is a woman, and so they will see her financial well-being as your responsibility.

RuthnJasper

How on earth are you (and the UK-based family members) going to afford flights and accommodation in India, in addition to the wedding loan?

Savings or not, your GF is throwing away her money on a one-off event. Do you fully appreciate how many years this will take her to repay?

Plus, if her or your circumstances change, that's your credit status ruined for years. Do not do this. You cannot afford it.

27col

Let's face it. There will never be any pay back on this loan.

ratrace

RuthnJasper wrote: »

How on earth are you (and the UK-based family members) going to afford flights and accommodation in India, in addition to the wedding loan?

Savings or not, your GF is throwing away her money on a one-off event. Do you fully appreciate how many years this will take her to repay?

Plus, if her or your circumstances change, that's your credit status ruined for years. Do not do this. You cannot afford it.

I dont think the op's credit will be ruined as long as he HAS NOT financially tied with his GF for eg: no joint bank account, no joint loans, and no joint cc's or any other financial tie

op, if your other half decides to go with the loan despite you warning her not to then what ever you do make sure that everything connected to that loan is in her name only

so if there in a default in the future for whatever reason then you wont be liable for it at all and in essence will be ok financially

i can understand she wants to help her family but getting in to debt because of it in not the answer

Serendipitious

My girlfriend is taking out a loan of around £5-6k to pay for her brother’s wedding. I am serious with my girlfriend (been together for 2 and a half years) and plan to marry couple years down the line when we are more financially secure.

It seems to me this loan will have a financial impact on your own plans to marry because any new debt will probably delay the point at which you feel you are more financially secure.

As a couple, perhaps you should both put your joint interests first, and prioritise your own life together. But I must admit I have no direct experience of what family financial expectations may be concerning people from other cultural backgrounds.

Is the brother going to Canada to live and work there? If so, is his Canadian income likely to be sufficient to cover living costs and repay a GBP loan? And who would he be repaying, bearing in mind that he thinks the cash has come from his parents' remortgage?