Mortgage credit: How to stop being a guarantor?

Problems with home credit? The credit intermediaries Poupança no Minuto solve it in the blink of an eye. Resort to the free services here, or keep reading to learn how you can stop being a guarantor for a home loan.

What does it mean to be a guarantor for a mortgage?

Being a guarantor for a mortgage loan means being responsible for the borrower's debt in case they fail to pay. In other words, it is a burden if the original borrower defaults.

However, many guarantors accept this position without knowing, by law, what it means, what the consequences are, and what their rights are. Later on, they may find themselves wanting to leave this responsibility and the bank refusing to accept it.

Therefore, it is important to be informed in advance about what it means to be responsible for another debtor's bail.

Before agreeing to be someone's guarantor, you should consider whether the debtor has the ability to pay off the debt and whether, if the debtor fails to make payments, they have the financial capacity to take responsibility. financial capacity

Know that, as guarantor, you are exposed to several riskssuch as: having your salary pledged, having your name in the Banco de Portugal's blacklist or having greater difficulty in contracting another credit of your own.

What are the rights of a guarantor?

But, as a guarantor, you also have rights! According to civil law, when taking on someone else's debt guarantee, you are entitled to the following:

• Subrogation in the rights of the creditor and right of recourse - if the guarantor pays off a debt to the creditor, in case of default by the debtor, he is subrogated in the rights of the creditor. This allows him to demand from the debtor all amounts paid to the original creditor for substitution.
• Benefit of prior excussion - it is the right not to settle the debt if the creditor has not yet mortgaged all the debtor's assets. However, this clause is not usually found in credit agreements.
• Term benefit - represents the debtor's right to settle the debt until the end of the contract period, with the creditor unable to demand early payment. But if the non-payment of one of the installments is at issue, this right loses its effect. In other words, the debtor loses the right and the creditor can demand payment of the remaining debt.

How to stop being guarantor?

To stop being a guarantor of a home loan, there must be an agreement between the debtor and the bank. But the likelihood of the bank refusing is high, as a guarantor is a guarantee that banks have regarding a debt, not wanting to waive it.

In case of bank refusal, another solution to no longer be a guarantor is for the debtor to proceed with a transfer of their mortgage loan to another bank institution.

In this case, it is simpler to access different credit conditions and remove the guarantor from their position. This is because it may be possible to lower the monthly installment of the credit, and consequently the effort rate. This eliminates the need for bail.

And why is it possible to have a lower installment in another bank? For several reasons, as you may be able to change the interest rate regime, extend the contract term, or reduce the spread by contracting other financial products in compensation. So, in this case, transferring your home loan can be beneficial in several ways. But essentially, for being able to remove a guarantor from the loan.

If you choose to proceed with a housing credit transfer, it may make sense to ask for help from a credit intermediary who can assist in negotiating new credit conditions. The intermediaries at Poupança no Minuto offer a free and fast service, which can follow the entire process until the credit is in another bank and you are free from being a guarantor.