Mortgage on bad credit?

neatheyc

I'm about to take the plunge and for the first time get a mortage with my girlfriend. The only problem is, she's always been very good with money and I haven't. I'm very worried that I may be denied a decent mortgage rate because of bad credit.

Does anyone know what constitutes bad credit in a mortgage lender's eyes? I think in the last 10 years of having credit cards, I've missed about 2 payments in total, but this was due to me being stupid and not paying on time.

I currently have 3 credit cards, one with £3500 debt on and the others nothing. I'm going to cancel one of them at least and keep one for emergencies (the one with debt has 0% balance transfer so I can't use this for purchases).

A couple of weeks ago, I applied for a loan for 5.5apr to pay off my credit card debt. They took me through a series of questions and at the end said I had been approved for a loan of 6.9apr and I said no and haven't signed or returned the paper work.

I then applied for a loan with Nortern Rock (stupid I know as the more loans you apply for the worse it is) and have had a letter back saying I was denied.

Does anyone know if this would prevent me from getting a good mortgage? I can pay the £2 and check out my credit history, but wasn't sure how bad it would be with just a couple of missed payments in 10 years and a denied loan. The mortgage advisor said to me Saturday that they only usually deny you a mortgage when you have CCJ's. Can anyone confirm this please?

mpsavuk

You stand a chance of getting a mortgage because it is a secured loan and they will just repossess your property if you default etc.
If you are assessed as a true credit risk you may have to try getting a mortgage off a sub-prime lender though which will cost you more in higher interest payments.
Not sure about CCJ's, sorry.
You admit you are not good with money so perhaps you should be asking yourself if you really are financially disciplined enough for the responsibilities that go with paying a mortgage.