You may be under the impression that you can not secure a mortgage with debt but this isn’t necessarily the case. 

Here at Complete Mortgage Advice we specialise in adverse credit and have access to many specialist lenders. There are many factors involved in securing a mortgage and each lender will assess these differently according to their criteria. This is why it is important to speak to a broker who can help you identify the right lender to suit your individual circumstances.

There are some key factors that can cause you to have poor credit:

Level of Debt

You could still get a mortgage even if you have debt. However, this can affect the amount you can borrow. Each lender will assess this differently depending on your individual circumstances and amount of debt. 

The amount of debt you have can impact your credit score. One thing to be cautious of is your credit utilization ratio. This is basically the amount of credit you are using in ratio to the amount of credit you have available. An example of this may be that you have a couple of credit cards and both are used up to the maximum limit. This will be something the lender is assessing when running a credit check.

Missed Payments

Missed payments can cause a significant drop in your credit score. Each lender will have different criteria around this with some having more flexibility than others. The main things lenders will be assessing are how many missed payments have there been and how long ago were they.

Low Credit Score

Having a low credit score can have an impact on your mortgage application. A low score isn’t always the result of missed payments, sometimes it’s due to other things such as incorrect address history, not being registered on the electoral roll or having lots of lines of credit.

There are lenders that do not base their decision on your credit score so even with a low score there may be options for you. There are ways you can look to improve your credit score, refer to our tips on page 6.

County Court Judgement (CCJ)

A County Court Judgment (CCJ) is where someone has taken legal action against you, alleging you owe them money. Lenders all have different criteria around CCJ’s. The type of things they will be considering are:

• When was it registered?
• How much was it for
• Has it been repaid?
• When was it repaid?

Payday Loans

Payday loans are viewed negatively by many mortgage lenders. If a payday loan has been used then it is likely the lender is going to want details of this.

A lender will base their decision around several factors when assessing a report showing any payday loans. The type of things they will be looking at are:

• How many have been used?
• Why were they needed?
• When was the latest one?

Bankruptcy

Filling for Bankruptcy is a legal process that someone can do if they can no longer repay their debts. It will normally involve any assets someone owns being shared out to help repay anyone they owe money to.

A bankruptcy order will normally last 12 months from the date the bankruptcy order was issued.

Having a bankruptcy on your credit history is likely to affect your ability to secure a mortgage.

Most lenders criteria will be focused on how long ago it was you were discharged from the Bankruptcy order. The length of time can vary between lenders, usually anywhere between 2 to 6 years.

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)

An IVA is an option for people when they find themselves struggling to make monthly payments on their commitments. You can arrange to pay a set amount to an insolvency practitioner who will then arrange this to be split between the companies you owe money to.

If you have a previous IVA then this will likely affect your options when it comes to applying for a mortgage.

Lenders are going to be assessing this based on a few different points:

• When was the IVA registered?
• Has it finished or still in place?
• If finished, then when was this?

All lenders will have different criteria based on your individual circumstances so it’s a good idea to seek advice from a mortgage professional to make sure the right lender is recommended for you.

If you’re looking for a mortgage and are worried about your credit history then get in touch as we would love to see if we can help you.

Tom
Mortgage Broker

01752 905011
info@completemortgageadvice.co.uk

Your Home (or property) may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. There may be a fee for mortgage advice. The actual amount you pay will depend upon your circumstances.