Mortgage Co-Signer vs. Guarantor

Posted by Scott Dawson on Feb 10, 2011 in Blog, News | 0 comments

From time to time I’m asked, “What’s the difference between a Co-Signer and a Guarantor for a mortgage?”

Basically, a co-signer is a co-owner, he/she is registered on the title and is equally accountable for payments. While a guarantor personally guarantees payments will be made if the original applicant defaults, but he/she has no claim to the property because they’re not on title.

Typically a co-signer will be on an application if additional income is needed for debt servicing. A Guarantor will be used if the main applicant has certain credit blemishes or hasn’t established credit.