When you’re desperately trying to save up a deposit for a home and just see the prices of property climbing and climbing, it’s difficult to remain patient. But there is another way: a guarantor can help.

If you don’t have a substantial deposit for a home loan, there are still a number of ways to obtain credit. These are known as family pledges and there are two types available to borrowers: service guarantees and security guarantees.

Service guarantees are less common that security guarantees, explains an MFAA-accredited mortgage broker, and they involve a family member guaranteeing all of the repayments on a loan, as well as being named on the property title.

“A drawback of this approach is that it usually means first home buyers are not entitled to any government grants,” Arafura Finance Brokers solutions specialist explains.

A more popular option is a security guarantee. Borrowers who have a limited deposit often use this approach. In this situation, a relative or friend (usually a borrower’s parent or parents) is prepared to use the equity in his or her own home to guarantee the deposit of the borrower.

For example, for a total loan amount of $600,000, in a security guarantor situation the borrower/s would take on the debt of 80% of the value of their loan, which would be $480,000, in their own name/s.

The loan for the balance, $120,000, is then guaranteed in the names of the guarantor/s and borrower/s, limiting the guarantor’s liability while providing security for the lender, meaning that lender’s mortgage insurance is not necessary.

“This is a very popular way of first home buyers entering the property market,” Nicholas says. “It works well when borrowers don’t have a substantial deposit, but their parents own their own home. It’s a great option as long as the parents are comfortable with their child’s ability to pay back the loan.” 

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