the best is to ask him to borrow from credit cards

if you do not want to lose your friend, better ask him to borrow from his friends. i have bad experience on lending to friends. in china, the ongoing principle is: lend as much as you are willing to lose. otherwise, do not lend. in your case, you are going to buy house, that is a good execuse not to lend. I once lend 70k to a good friend, and never to get back. now i do not mention it anymore, and it is strange it makes me feel guilty whenever i ask for it.