Guarantor loans
Compare guarantor loans and check your eligibility [1]
What is a guarantor loan?
A guarantor loan is when somebody (typically a family member or close friend) agrees to pay off the debt if the person who took it out defaults on their payments.
They can be a useful option if you would struggle to be accepted for a loan on your own, for instance if you have a poor credit score or haven’t built one up yet.
Guarantor loans can either be secured or unsecured. If they’re secured, then the guarantor’s home could be at risk if you fall behind on payments.
How do they work?
They work like a normal personal loan, except both the person receiving the money and the guarantor will need to apply.
It’s then up to the lender to accept or reject the application based on whether you and the guarantor fulfil the eligibility criteria.
If it’s accepted, the details of the loan including the interest rate, monthly repayments and loan term will be agreed upon.
The person requiring the loan or the guarantor will then receive the lump sum. In some cases, the guarantor receives the loan and sends it on as a form of fraud prevention.
Once the loan term starts, monthly repayments will need to be paid. If they aren’t, the guarantor will have to cover the cost.
-
What are the benefits?
The advantages of taking out a guarantor loan include:
- Unlike other types of personal loans, you may be accepted even if you have a bad credit score or no credit history at all
- It can help you improve your credit score if you can make your repayments on time and in full
- There’s a possibility that you may be able to borrow more than you would be able to on your own, but that doesn’t mean you should if it would cause you to struggle to pay your regular outgoings
-
Risks
Of course, there are disadvantages to watch out for:
- It can cause strain in the relationship between the guarantor and the person requiring the loan. If they’re seen to be frivolous with their money and the guarantor has to step in and make the repayments, it could cause arguments
- Interest rates tend to be higher than if you had a regular personal loan
- Missed repayments will not only affect your credit score, but it can also leave a mark on your guarantor’s credit report making it more difficult for both of you to borrow in the future
- If your guarantor isn’t able to cover the missed repayments, they could face legal action or have their house repossessed if the loan is secured
How to compare guarantor loans?
It’s easy to compare guarantor loans with us.
Just use our smart search tool to find the loans you have a higher probability of being accepted for. All you need to do is enter a few details about yourself and the type of loan you’re looking for.
It won’t affect your credit score and can help you avoid rejected applications.
If you find the right one for you, just hit ‘Apply’.
Eligibility criteria
As you’re both applying for the loan, you’ll both need to meet the lender’s eligibility criteria.
Applicants
The person requiring the loan will generally need to be:
- Aged 18 or over
- A UK resident
- Employed with income that can cover repayments
Application criteria will differ between lenders, so it’s always important to check you meet the requirements before applying.
Guarantors
Guarantors will have a slightly different criteria:
- Aged 21 or over
- Close family member or friend of the applicant
- Homeowner (only if secured loan)
- Good credit score
What to consider
Before you apply for a guarantor loan, think about what would happen if you fell behind on your repayments and your family member or friend had to step in and cover them. This could cause a huge amount of tension and may even irreparably damage your relationship if their home is at risk. Consider all the possibilities carefully before applying.
If you do decide it’s the right option, make sure you’re getting the best deal possible. Compare the different products available and read the terms and conditions.
A shorter loan term will ultimately save you money as you’ll pay less interest overall. Just make sure that you can afford the monthly repayments comfortably.
Alternatives
If you’re looking at guarantor loans, it usually means that your credit score isn’t great which will affect your ability to borrow. However, you may want to think about:
A credit card – It’s highly unlikely that you’ll be accepted for a new credit card with a 0% interest rate if you have a poor credit score, but if you already have a card with an affordable interest rate it may be worth using it instead of taking out a loan. Work out how much it would cost you to borrow on your credit card compared to a loan.
You may also want to investigate credit cards for those with bad credit ratings. They usually have lower credit limits and higher interest rates, but you’re more likely to be accepted for one even with a poor credit score and you won’t need to have a guarantor.
0% interest overdraft – For borrowing small amounts of money, you may want to look into an interest-free overdraft. If your current account doesn’t have one, then you could switch to one that does.
Saving up – It’s not an instant lump sum of cash but there won’t be any strings attached to it. Start by creating a budget to find out where you can cut costs each month and put the money somewhere you won’t be tempted to touch it, like a separate savings account.
Frequently asked questions
-
Anyone can be a guarantor who meets the eligibility criteria of the lender. However, in most cases they’re a close family member, like a parent or guardian, or a friend. It may even be possible to have a partner as a guarantor on a loan, as long as you have separate bank accounts.
It’s vital that there’s trust between the applicant and guarantor, as the guarantor stands to lose a lot if repayments aren’t made.
-
If you don’t repay the loan, your guarantor is legally liable to pay it off.
The lender will require them to catch up on the payments or they might even take the payments from the guarantor’s bank account using a continuous payment authority (CPA). This may have been set up when the loan was approved.
If payments still aren’t made, the debt could be passed onto a collection agency or legal action could be taken against the guarantor. If it’s a secured loan, then the guarantor’s home may be at risk of repossession.
Both the applicant and guarantor’s credit score will be negatively affected by missed payments.
-
Yes, missed repayments will affect the credit rating of the applicant and guarantor.
-
Before you default on a payment, it’s important to get in touch with the loan provider if you think you might struggle.
They may be able to work with you and find a solution that eases the financial pressure. The last thing you want is for your guarantor to have to start covering your payments.
For free debt advice, you can speak to StepChange or National Debtline, who can help you set up a plan to get back on track.
-
This will depend on the income of both you and the guarantor, but typically lenders offer guarantor loans of between £1,000 and £10,000.
The lender will want to make sure that you can afford your monthly repayments and that your guarantor would be able to cover the debt, if they needed to.
-
The guarantor will be subject to a credit check to make sure that they’re reliable with paying back debt. They’ll also need to pass an affordability check to make sure they can cover the loan amount, if required.
As well as that, they’ll need to fulfil the eligibility criteria, for example being over 21 and a UK resident. Their identity and housing will be checked as part of fraud prevention measures.
If it’s a secured loan, they’ll be required to own their own home.
[1]Gocompare.com introduces customers to Experian Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Gocompare.com’s relationship with Experian Limited is limited to that of a business partnership, no common ownership or control rights exist between us. Please note, we cannot be held responsible for the content of external websites and by using the links stated to access these separate websites you will be subject to the terms of use applying to those sites