Apply for mortgage before or after moving to a bad area?

MasterP

Hello,

Nice to meet you all, this is my first post, please be gentle

Three days from now, I'm moving into temporary (rented) accommodation in an area with a postcode that won't score well with credit agencies. As luck would have it, I've just seen a house that I want to buy (in a good area), and I need to arrange a mortgage.

My question is this: should I apply for the mortgage using my current address (where I'm on the electoral register and have lived for 18 months), or using the new address? I'm concerned that the bad postcode and lack of any official record of me living there could harm my credit score with the mortgage company and prevent me from getting a mortgage.

Some more info about my circumstances:
- I'm in full time permanent employment
- I have a deposit of 40%
- I want to borrow with a salary multiple of 4x
- I have no adverse credit history
- I have no dependents
- I have no debts (but do have a credit card)
- I have had mortgages in the past, with no problems

Any help is much appreciated! :j

P.

_Andy_

the postcode won't affect things.

MasterP

_Andy_ wrote: »

the postcode won't affect things.

Ah, that's good to hear - after reading all the credit ratings guides, I'd got the impression that postcode was a factor.

So, how about the fact that I won't be on the electoral register or registered with any other companies at the new address? (obviously I'm going to update all the organisations, but I suppose this will take a while to filter through).

Thanks

P.

benjo

I dont know if all councils are the same, but simply paying a council tax bill doesnt mean you will ever be on the electoral register. Certainly where I live, you have to fill out a form before the council will put you on the register and even then it can take several months, since they only update their records at certain times of the year.

Once you are on the register it takes a further ??? time for the credit reference agencies to update their records to include the new electoral register details.

MasterP

benjo wrote: »

I dont know if all councils are the same, but simply paying a council tax bill doesnt mean you will ever be on the electoral register. Certainly where I live, you have to fill out a form before the council will put you on the register and even then it can take several months, since they only update their records at certain times of the year.

Once you are on the register it takes a further ??? time for the credit reference agencies to update their records to include the new electoral register details.

Hi Benjo,

Yes, you're right - you need to register separately from council tax in order to get on the electoral register, and it can take quite a few months for the electoral register to be updated.

It's precisely this delay that makes me wonder if I should apply using my current address (where I am on the register, but I'm moving out on Saturday) or using the new address (where nobody has any record of me at all!).

Thanks

P