Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

1 2 3

Original poster

Being a Guarantor for adult children

72 replies

Rimower · 25/04/2022 11:18

Hi,

My ds and his gf are moving in together. DS is going to be doing a masters, and his gf has a job which pays about £34k a year. The gf's parent's are retired, so can't really be a guarantor.

They are looking at flats for around £1,800 a month. They could offer 6 months up front. The problem is, the gf's job contract is a 12 month one, and she will only have 10 months of it left at the time they are looking to rent. After this, she will get another job (she is very sought after).

My question is. Can we be guarantors for their flat? Neither Dh nor I earn massive amounts (about 50k each). Last year, we had trouble with a snotty estate agent requiring guarantors to be from one income alone.

OP posts:

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 08:18

I’m that people are so against parents being a guarantor for their dc.
My parents have been one for me when I was younger. They would do it again Wo any hesitation.
Just like I would for my own dcs.

It didn’t cross my mind not to do it tbh.

WoodenClock · 27/04/2022 08:24

You didn't mention your son's income and you only mentioned the possibility of GF being able to pay up front.

It depends how it leaves you if they default and/or if they split.

If you can cover it without it being a disaster, I'd do it. If you can't, you can't afford it either.

ImAvingOops · 27/04/2022 08:27

@AMindOfMyOwn its a big risk for parents, particularly when based on the income of people other than their own child.
If a parent is very wealthy then yes it's a great thing to offer, but few parents could realistically afford to cover the whole expense if things went pear shaped.
I did it for DS when he was a student and I didn't fully understand the risk but parents have other kids whose financial security has to be considered

Foolsrule · 27/04/2022 08:27

Surely take home pay on £34K is about £2K? So what are they going to live on once the rent is paid?!

FlowerArranger · 27/04/2022 08:35

Why can't they join a house share like most young people do in London? The fact is they can't really afford it and seem somewhat entitled.

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 08:47

@ImAvingOops My parents didn’t hesitate because they trusted me.
and I wouldn’t hesitate because I would trust my dc.

I would have more hesitation and worry about the student shared accommodation issue where you don’t know the other students but STILL a take on the responsibility for their share tbh.

I think there are many situations where getting a flat could be difficult wo support.

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 08:50

In the case of the OP, the parents have an income of £50k EACH and the dc his partner have 6 months worth of rent put aside.

Thats a lot to start with and not a situation where I’m thinking ‘danger. There is no way they can afford that flat’.

Scooby5kids · 27/04/2022 09:49

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 08:18

It didn’t cross my mind not to do it tbh.

It's not really about trust though, it's about acknowledging bad situations in life happen. The point is, if they split up and her son can't afford to pay the rent by himself then it it puts his mum in a bad situation. It's got nothing to do with trust, it's about practicalities and weighing up the risks. He's not in a good financial position yet. The rent on this place is way out of budget for the mum to afford. I'd be happy to be guarantor for one of my kids so long as it was an affordable amount that I could pay or help towards if the worst scenario happened. In this case I'd just explain that I just can't afford to take the risk on a property with such high rent. They should be sensible and wait until they're both secure enough and for a time where they don't need to live in central London where the rent is ridiculously high. I could get a 3 bed family detached house where I live for that rent

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 10:02

If they split up, why would HE stay in that flat rather than her who has a full time income ?

WoodenClock · 27/04/2022 10:03

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 10:02

If they split up, why would HE stay in that flat rather than her who has a full time income ?

Well he might not, but it would be much easier for her to walk away, as her parents wouldn't have the commitment.

ImAvingOops · 27/04/2022 10:10

I think if you are a guarantor you have to know that you could really afford it if you had to step in. It's not about trusting your child - they could lose their job through no fault of their own, their relationship could break down.
I have a mortgage of my own and am responsible for housing/financially supporting my other, younger children - I couldn't risk that by overstretching myself to potentially cover an adult child's (and their partner's) rent.

LegMeChicken · 27/04/2022 10:12

There are companies you can pay to do this.

User7493268965 · 27/04/2022 10:21

If you are a guarantor you are often responsible for damage as well as rent and not just damage by your DC, most student house guarantors are joint damage and sometimes separate rent, if 5 or 6 are sharing, it could be a considerable amount to pay if they come after you for damage. I'm not sure if damage is included in non student houses

SpiderinaWingMirror · 27/04/2022 10:32

What funds does your son have access to I think is the question here. He needs to cover his expenses. If, in reality you are doing that anyway, I would do it. You presumably have some insight into how he is with money. But I agree with others, it needs to be something that is affordable for both of them.

DahliaDreamer · 27/04/2022 10:59

I am guarantor for my son (doing masters) and partner (working as intern). Seems it's the only way they could find a flat.

Eviebeans · 27/04/2022 11:39

I believe that if you act as guarantor there is no easy way to stop if you wish to

LittleYellowDog · 27/04/2022 11:53

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 10:02

If they split up, why would HE stay in that flat rather than her who has a full time income ?

She could stay, not pay the rent and trash the place and the guarantor would have to pay.

Stevenage689 · 27/04/2022 17:52

Rimower · 27/04/2022 07:20

Two bedrooms in a shared flat would be the same price -or more- of a one bed flat.

There are plenty of house shares able to have couple in a double room.

However, if this is not an option, they need to move to commuter zones and not central London. There are flats within their price range, but they can't be spending 75% of take home pay on rent. Unless your son is paid for his masters and you've not mentioned? I'm trying to understand the logic here.

Ponderingwindow · 27/04/2022 17:59

I would agree to be a guarantor for my a responsible adult child furthering her education. I would not however agree to do so if that essentially made me a guarantor for another person as well.

This is a situation where two people can’t really afford to live together yet.

boonducks · 27/04/2022 18:06

Being retired doesn't preclude anyone from being a guarantor. It just requires income above a certain level. Retired DH was guarantor for DS in his first flat.

Scooby5kids · 28/04/2022 21:37

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 10:02

If they split up, why would HE stay in that flat rather than her who has a full time income ?

Because it's him mum that is guarantor. Why would she stay there paying all the money if she didn't have to? I mean she might do that but chances are they'd both want to get smaller more affordable flats, but it will be him and his mum that is more financially bound to it

PinkyLincs · 17/02/2025 10:09

AMindOfMyOwn · 27/04/2022 08:18

It didn’t cross my mind not to do it tbh.

There are very good reasons why some people don't want to be Guarantors on contracts with joint and several liability clauses. I've seen parents end up in court over flatmates defaulting on their rent. The Guarantors can then end up with their credit rating severely affected. It isn't something to be gone into without serious thought and consideration.

Flip

1 2 3

Swipe left for the next trending thread