Guarentor?

[luamber]

My sister has asked me to act as guarentor so she can rent a flat.  As much as I adore her, she's got a habit of being slightly unreliable with her cash and she's currently only working on a temporary contract. Can anyone explain exactly what I would be potentially letting myself in for if I were to agree to this? 

Thanks.

[evil_edna]

basically you become liable if your sister does not pay the rent. They can take you to court and hound you for any money outstanding. A risky business.

[WendyS]

I'd be tempted to give it a miss, much as you love her.  If she's adult enough to consider renting a flat, she should be adult enough to learn how to budget and control her finances. Individuals have to learn how to stand on their own two feet . If she defaults and you end up having to act as guarantor, it may well strain the relationship between you as well as ruining your own finances.    In the long run you'll help her more if you sit down with her,  help her devise a budget and impress on her the need to live within her means.

[luamber]

Thanks to you both.

My sister left university a few years back and then, after getting herself in debt, spent a while in Thailand just 'getting her head together' or something like that.  She's now back and has got her old job back, although only on a temporary contract.

I love her to bits and really want to help her out - the only doubts I have are purely selfish - I'm getting married soon and hope to increase our mortgage to raise funds for a bigger place of our own. I feel awful saying it, but I don't want to risk any of that by helping her out, even though  she's promised that she can be trusted...she's trying so hard to get herself together that I'd find it very difficult to let her down.

Thanks very much for the advice.

[stoo_pid]

If this helps at all luamber, I don't think that making plans to safeguard your future with your husband is selfish - exactly the opposite. 

One other thing to consider is that whether your sis can trusted or not, her employment situation is still only temporary.  I don't know about anyone else but I wouldn't ask any friend or relative to be a guarantor for me unless I felt had a secure job.  (Indeed, guarantor or not, I wouldn't even consider taking on the responsibility of renting my own place until I had a permanent job.)

[Uzoma]

Just to add to all the wise advice already written, usually a guarantor is essentially put in place when someone can pay their rent or mortgage but don't have a way to prove it. It tends to mean that it's the bank or landlord that have doubts. If the guarantor (ie. you) has any doubts, that's usually not a good sign. Personally, I live by the mantra, don't lend or give away what's too costly to lose.

[twiglet4frog]

a gurantoris someone that the rent people can get the money off if the main renter isnt paying rent. I know cos my dad is my guarentor with our rent company they said  that if i never pay the bill then they will charge my parents for the rent.

My advice is if u have any doubts at all about your sisters reliability stay away, nothing worse than mixing money with family as it causes major family problems one day! if u want to help out cant u offer to help her with an initial deposit,  might be around �500 but it shows u are trying to help her out but with no long term problems should she not pay rent. Hope that helps?

[Piper-AK]

Don't feel guilty that you're making her homeless if you refuse.  Not all landlords ask for guarantors, so she'll be able to find somewhere else to live and she may even like it better than this place! 

[luamber]

Thanks for all the advice people...much appreciated.

It's been difficult to make a decision but I'm not going to help her out at the moment, although I've promised to help her out any other way I can.  She's living at home with our parents at the moment so I'm not making her homeless and I'll help her out with the house-hunting after xmas - by then she'll know whether her work contract is gong to be made permanent.

Not sure if she' ll still be speaking to me by then!!

Thanks again x

[WendyS]

Well done for having the courage of your convictions.  It probably wasn't easy but may well have saved you future anguish.