Bought a house - new credit card?

bimbam1982

Hi all,

Have recently bought my first house (well, should be completing this Friday), and really need a new 0% balance transfer card ASAP.

I already have a credit card with about £2,500 on it, and am currently paying about £80 interest on it per month. I can't afford at the moment to pay anything more that the minimum payments, which I just have on DD, due to the house purchase at the moment.

I have been having trouble in the past few months getting a new credit card, which is why I'm still stuck paying this interest. I have checked my credit report and it doesn't seem that bad, I haven't missed any payments, only have about £5,000 in existing credit cards / loans, and all of my accounts are in green.

What I'm wondering is, now that I have bought a house and have a mortgage, will this improve my credit score significantly being a home owner and make it easier for me to get a new card? I would of thought that if I can get a mortgage I would be able to get a credit card?

Any help and advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

latecomer

It certainly should help you get a credit card but of course isn't a guarantee. Also make sure you are put onto the electoral register at the new address as soon as possible.

NickX

bimbam1982 wrote: »

What I'm wondering is, now that I have bought a house and have a mortgage, will this improve my credit score significantly being a home owner and make it easier for me to get a new card? I would of thought that if I can get a mortgage I would be able to get a credit card?

I understand your thinking here, but unfortunately this is not always the case.

The Mortgage is "secured debt" and effectively is countered by the value of your house.

The Credit Cards are "unsecured debt", and as such the Card Companies will want to look out how well you have managed "unsecured debt" in the past and your current exposure to "unsecured debt".

Because the mortgage is effectively a charge on the asset that is your home, it does not really have that much bearing, although if you had mortgage arrears then that would bring down your credit rating.

As latecomer suggests, it is vital that you get on the electoral role. This is a crucial step in being able to obtain credit facilities.

CLAPTON

have you checked all three of your credit reports?
how many applications have you made recently
and certainly don't apply again until your credit report show you being on the electoral roll at the new address.

bimbam1982

Thanks for the advise on the electoral role, thats one thing I hadn't thought of, and am doing it now.

I have done a couple of applications recently, plus a few a couple of months ago - there are probably about 10 on there in the past 12 months, and I know this is probably one of the major problems with credit rating.

So basically, I'm stuck with making the minimum payments on this credit card with high interest for at least a few months after we have moved in, and we have made our first few mortgage payments, updated the electoral roll etc?

Thanks again for you help.