OK..Correct me if I'm wrong (and I am sure you will).
When I was much younger and living in an entirely different world, I applied for a mortgage. As a newly minted member of the legal profession, I had no credit, no references and a small mountain of debt. My earnest and cloying "mortgage facilitator" suggested that I obtain a co-signer or guarantor. Even as a novice barrister, I didn't understand what that entailed. I learned very quickly and, after a chorus of "no", I signed a lease for a most comfortable apartment.