Should I see a credit repair specialist before applying for a home loan?

Not before you've read your credit report. Some files are better than people expect and there's a lender that can help now. Others need fixing first, and you can often correct genuine errors yourself for free.

Can I get a home loan with defaults on my credit file?

Possibly. Some lenders decline any default in the last 24 months, while specialist lenders accept paid defaults up to a few thousand dollars. Size, age and whether they're paid all matter.

Does a guarantor fix a bad credit file?

No. A guarantor helps with the deposit, not your credit history. The lender still assesses you as the borrower, and your file has to fit its policy.

Can credit repair remove a default that's correct?

No. Incorrect listings can be corrected, and you can request that yourself at no cost. An accurate default stays until it ages off, so paying it and keeping the rest of your file clean is the usual path.

Where do I get my credit report?

You can request a free report from each credit reporting bureau. Lenders don't all use the same one, so it's worth checking more than one.

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My credit score is low and I've got a few defaults. Should I see a credit repair specialist first, or can I still get a guarantor loan?

Bayley Clarke · Mortgage broker on the road · Last checked 11 November 2026 · 3 min read

The short answer

It depends on what your credit report actually says, and the only way to find that out is to pull it. Get your free report or get me to run one with you, and then we'll know whether you need to fix things first or whether there's a lender that can support what you're trying to do even with a bit of impairment on the file.

Sitting on your hands thinking your credit's stuffed gets you nowhere. Sometimes the file is better than you think. Other times it's a heck of a lot worse and it needs fixing. Either way, the report comes first and the credit repair decision comes second.

The 90 second version, filmed from the driver's seat. The rest of this page is the detail underneath it.

The report is the source of truth

A score on its own doesn't tell a bank much. What a lender actually reads is the file behind it: how many defaults, how big they are, whether they're paid, how old they are, and what your repayment history looks like on the debts you've still got. Two people with the same score can get very different answers because the detail underneath is different.

So step one is getting the report. You're entitled to a free copy from each of the credit reporting bureaus, and there's more than one of them. Lenders don't all check the same bureau, so it's worth seeing more than one report rather than relying on a single snapshot. If you'd rather not go through it alone, send it to me and we'll read it together.

What lenders do with a default

This is where it spreads out a lot from lender to lender. At one end, some of the prime lenders won't look at you with any default listed in the last 24 months, paid or not. At the other end, specialist lenders work in tiers and will accept paid defaults up to a few thousand dollars, and older listings can matter far less than recent ones. Paid versus unpaid makes a real difference almost everywhere.

So there's no blanket answer to whether you can or can't borrow with a few defaults. It comes down to the size, the age, whether they're paid and what else sits on the file. That's why I won't guess from a score, and why you shouldn't either.

Where a guarantor fits, and where it doesn't

A guarantor helps with the deposit side. Your parents' property security can stand in for the deposit you haven't saved, which can mean no lenders mortgage insurance. What a guarantor doesn't do is clean up your credit file. The lender still assesses you as the borrower, and your file still has to fit its policy.

Guarantor loans also tend to sit with lenders that are fussier about credit, so a recent unpaid default can rule the guarantor route out even when the family security is strong. Which is exactly why you check the report before you ask your parents to sign anything.

The honest bit: credit repair can't remove what's true

If something on your file is wrong, you can ask the bureau or the creditor to correct it yourself, for free. A credit repair business can do that legwork for you, but it charges for it, and it can't make an accurate listing disappear. If the default is real, the usual fix is paying it, keeping everything else clean and letting time do its work.

Sometimes the right answer is to wait and tidy up first. Sometimes there's a lender that will look at you now. You only find out which once someone has read the actual report.

Want someone to read your credit report with you?

A 30 minute call. We go through what's on your file, what lenders will make of it, and whether you're better off applying now or fixing things first.

Book a 30 minute call Call 0437 189 939

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Next question

Why does one credit report look clean and the other one shows my hardship?

Because there's more than one credit bureau, lenders don't all report to each one, and each scores you differently.