Using credit card to assist with house deposit

Dom1982

Evening all. First time poster, so please go easy on me!

I've decided that I want 2011 to be the year that I knuckle down and save for a house deposit and maybe buy in early 2012. I would be a first time buyer and am currently a 28 year old single male graduate, who is currently renting a room in a shared house.

A brief breakdown of my financial situation is:

Savings - £4000
Credit card - no debt but has £5000 limit
Credit score - full points with no missed payments, etc.
Earnings - £33k before deductions
Monthly rent - £430
Other outgoings - £250 a month until May 2013 hire purchase agreement for car (no missed payments).

I'm relatively fortunate that I'm young, free and single and am able to put aside £400 a month to put towards my house deposit, so in a year's time I should have around £9k in savings.

Whilst I'm fully aware that I can directly use my £5k credit card limit to add on to my savings to make a larger deposit, I was wondering what the implications would be if I started putting day to day items such as petrol and food on my credit card (currently at 0%) and perhaps adding another £3k to my savings at the end of next year?

Would lenders look favourably on someone in my position who perhaps had £12 in savings, a £3k debt on a credit card and also the ability to pay back both a mortgage and pay off the credit card, which I would prove by the £400 that I'm currently putting aside on top of the £430 monthly rent I pay?

Does anyone have any experience or this area or any words of wisdom?

Many thanks
Dom

DVardysShadow

Probably a waste of effort. Your future payments on the HP are £9000 approx, which with £4000 savings means that you are in debt to £5000. This is the kind of calculation which the lenders will do. In the current climate, you need to have equity of about 15% after your debts are paid off to have a hope of a mortgage.

GMS

Borrowing your deposit is not something a lender would like, and in any case the balance on the credit card would be taken as a monthly comittment which will affect the amount you can borrow.

Using the card and repaying it will help your credit rating but not if the limit is almost used.

The £250 mth finance will also reduce amount available.

Try a few lenders affordabiltiy calculators on their websites for an idea, although they are not 100% reliable. Should give you a starting point though