Eligibility

What It Means

In the CoBuy framework, eligibility is a group-level financial feasibility classification. It assesses whether a co-buyer group's combined financial profile — income, debts, savings, credit, and purchasing power — can realistically support the group's stated co-buying plan. Eligibility is evaluated by CoBuy as part of the CoBuy Wizard intake process and is one of two core assessments delivered in the CoBuy Decision Brief™, alongside Viability.

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Eligibility is not underwriting. It is not a lending decision, a pre-approval, or a Pre-qualification. It is a classification that benchmarks the group's combined financial position against conventional lending norms and the group's stated target market parameters to determine whether the stated plan is financially realistic.

What Eligibility Evaluates

Eligibility combines individual financial inputs from each Co-borrower in the group to produce a group-level financial picture. Key inputs include combined annual income, total monthly debt obligations, debt-to-income ratios, available savings and liquid reserves, self-reported credit profiles, and the group's stated budget and target market.

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These inputs are evaluated against conventional lending benchmarks — such as standard debt-to-income thresholds, minimum reserve expectations, and median home prices in the target geography — to classify whether the group's plan is financially supportable. The assessment considers the full group's combined capacity, not any single member's profile in isolation.

What Eligibility Is Not

Eligibility is a CoBuy classification. It does not replace or replicate the role of a lender. A positive eligibility assessment does not guarantee financing approval, and a constrained assessment does not preclude it. Lenders make independent underwriting decisions based on their own criteria, documentation requirements, and risk models.

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Eligibility does not evaluate alignment, interpersonal readiness, or governance preparedness — those dimensions belong to Viability. Together, eligibility and viability form the basis of the CoBuy Readiness Assessment delivered in the CoBuy Decision Brief™.

Why It Matters for Co-buyers

In a Joint Mortgage arrangement, the group's combined financial profile determines what loan programs, terms, and purchasing power are available. Understanding eligibility before engaging lenders, agents, or attorneys allows the group to identify financial gaps, adjust their plan if needed, and approach professionals with a clear picture of where they stand.

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Eligibility helps groups assess financial gaps before committing time or resources. By evaluating feasibility at the group level early in the process, eligibility serves as a critical checkpoint before the group commits to downstream costs and obligations.

Key Points

• A group-level financial feasibility classification assessed by CoBuy as part of the Wizard intake process
• Evaluates combined income, debts, savings, credit, and purchasing power against lending norms and target market parameters
• Not underwriting, not a lending decision, and not a guarantee of financing approval
• Distinct from Viability, which evaluates alignment and decision-making readiness
• Together with Viability, forms the basis of the CoBuy Readiness Assessment in the CoBuy Decision Brief™
• Helps groups identify financial gaps before committing time and money to the co-buying process