What does being a "guarantor" do to your credit rating?

[clh2]

Background - DD may be signing a lease for her junior year of college (the 2014-15 school year) that requires either DH or me to sign as a guarantor.

Not happy about this - HOWEVER - I am not sure what other options there are. DH and I have seen this apartment - and for many reasons - we would be very supportive of our DD living there. I do "love" that at this apartment complex - DD (and us) are only responsible for "her" share of the lease, all leases are independent, so we would not be responsible for the leases of the roommates if one of them flakes.

And - as best as I can tell guarantors are the norm for rentals near DD's school.

So - does anyone know if this negatively impacts credit scores? DH's and my credit scores are great, the only "big" thing we potentially might purchase in the next couple of years is a new car for me.

Any input from someone who has BTDT would be appreciated! Apparently - leases get signed in the October time-frame for the following school year, which seems early, but it is what it is.

 

[RitaE]

We did that --- well my husband did -- when our oldest rented his first apartment in college. It never showed up on his credit report at all.

After the first year the apartment management company let my son renew the lease without our guarantee. I made sure all the rent payments came out of our son's checking account with his name on the checks, so they could see he was actually making the payments.

 

[AuroraRora]

When i was in college my parents had to sign a guarantor form for the lease too, and I don't know anyone that didn't have to get their parents to sign - I think it definitely is pretty normal as they presume students aren't fully supporting themselves (although I'm sure if she could prove she had a large employment income or something, she wouldn't need it). I don't think it affected my parents credit rating at all as it's not a loan or a purchase. I think it's more for a liability point of view, and would only involve your credit rating if something went wrong and they used the guarantor paperwork to take you to court for unpaid rent/damages.

 

[jmartinez1895]

If the company pulls your credit then it will not have much of an impact on your credit ( unless you are frequently apply for credit and have a lot of credit inquires on your report). A lot will also depend on if the company runs it on your credit, or if they are just holding your info in case the person on the lease does not pay. In either case as long as the rent is being paid it will not have a negative impact.

 

[clh2]

Thanks everyone...

I certainly wish she would have a high-enough job that would totally pay for the rent...while she does have a job this summer (and should have the same one for next summer); it won't pay the rent.

I do not know if we will need to give the rental department our SS #. Obviously I hope not.

I am glad to hear that this shouldn't count against us on our credit score, again - we are very particular about our credit scores. If it did - I would probably try to negotiate my way out of that. If it isn't an issue - then I can just stop worrying altogether.

 

[bdcp]

We did it for both our sons. Technically, we were paying their portion of the rent anyway. I mailed them each a check once per month that had their portion of the rent plus a little extra. They have to have some way to get the rent if the kid doesn't pay it since most that age aren't making enough to qualify on their own. If your credit scores are that good, then this won't impact them at all. Helping our kids would have been more than worth a temporary slight dip in our scores (which have always been high).

 

[AuroraRora]

I do not know if we will need to give the rental department our SS #. Obviously I hope not.

For what its worth, I always needed to provide my parents SSN's - it was how they'd pull their credit and check us all for potential court eviction records.

 

[jenniy122]

For what its worth, I always needed to provide my parents SSN's - it was how they'd pull their credit and check us all for potential court eviction records.

Yep, always have needed my mom's SSN, even when renting from the same company again.

Other than that it's had no effect on my parents credit. This year they've been cutting the checks, previous years they'd deposit the money and I'd make out the check, but either way we make sure that the rents paid on time so no one's hurt by it. If you're having her make the payments make sure they're made, as I imagine things would get messy if the apartment company had to come after you to secure funds.