Guarantors – are they an option?
High property prices are seeing some first home buyers turn to parents and close relatives to act as a guarantor for their loan. It’s an option that can help you get into your first home sooner – but it also brings considerable responsibilities and risks.
What is a guarantor?
Many lenders will allow a related third party to provide additional security to help a family member buy their own home. The person providing this assistance is known as a guarantor.
This is different to being a co-applicant or co-signer. A co-applicant will be included on the loan and will be responsible for the entire loan until such time as it is repaid in full. A guarantor, on the other hand, is linked to a loan by a guarantee.
This guarantee can be released and the guarantor’s responsibility stopped without the loan being repaid in full.
Who can be a guarantor?
Guarantors are generally limited to immediate family members. Normally, this would be a parent, but it can include siblings and grandparents. Some lenders will allow extended family members and even ex-spouses to be a guarantor to a loan, but this varies depending on the lender.
Benefits for first home buyer
As the Family Home Guarantee is offered by the NFHIC as an extension of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS, not all properties will be eligible. This scheme holds the same property price limits as the FHLDS that can differ depending on your state.
Considerations for guarantors
While securing a guarantor might seem like a winning situation for you, it’s important to also consider the risks from the perspective of your guarantor.
Guarantors effectively offer to take on responsibility for the home loan if repayments can’t be met. So it’s not something to take lightly.
It pays to consider how they would cope financially if the unexpected happens, and the lender turns to them to make good on the loan.
Their own financial wellbeing could be compromised – at worst, they could risk losing their own home.
Some lenders allow guarantors to impose a limit on the sum they guarantee. And, over time, they may be released from their role as guarantor as the loan is paid down or as the home equity rises.
Anyone considering being a guarantor for a property loan is advised to seek independent legal and financial advice before accepting the role. In fact, most lenders will insist on this, prior to accepting
a guarantee.