Boost your affordability with a guarantor mortgage

Who can get a guarantor mortgage depends on the scheme you go with, as each will have their own eligibility criteria and affordability checks. But in general, you and your guarantor will need to have a suitable credit score, and be able to afford to cover the mortgage payments. Some guarantor schemes also place age restrictions on who can be a guarantor, normally up to the age of 70-80, or require you to prove 12 months worth of employment or pension history.

A guarantor mortgage is suitable for first home buyers and home movers who cannot afford a mortgage by themselves, and have family or friends who would like to help. Guarantor mortgages are not designed for buy-to-let mortgages or commercial properties.

Yes, by having a guarantor on your mortgage application, you can get a bigger mortgage. This is by either putting down a larger house deposit, using your guarantor’s savings as security or adding your guarantor’s earnings to your application. However, in order to receive a mortgage offer, both you and your guarantor need to pass the lender’s affordability checks.

Yes, you can remove your parent from your mortgage later on if you are able to afford the mortgage by yourself. For example, your parent could be added to your mortgage for the first five years to increase how much you would borrow. After five years, if you are able to borrow more because you’ve switched jobs or had a pay rise, you can remortgage and remove your parent as a guarantor from the mortgage.

If your guarantor is unable to make the monthly repayments, depending on the type of guarantor mortgage you’ve used their savings or property may be used to cover the cost. As a last resort, if you do not keep up with your payments your home will be repossessed.

Yes, you could be a guarantor if you have a mortgage, provided your income and equity are high enough to cover both your own mortgage and the guaranteed mortgage. Lenders will evaluate your overall financial health to ensure you can manage both commitments without strain.

Yes, a retired person could absolutely be a guarantor, but lenders enforce strict age and income rules that make approval more difficult. The guarantor's income must comfortably cover their own living costs and existing mortgage commitments alongside the new mortgage payment. Most lenders also require the mortgage term to end before the oldest borrower reaches age 75 to 80. So if your guarantor is 65, the maximum mortgage term allowed may be restricted to 10 or 15 years instead of the standard 25 or 30 years. There are other ways a retiree could support someone's home purchase, for example by gifting a deposit as opposed to acting as a guarantor on their mortgage.