Mortgages after an IVA

Kent1981

I concluded an IVA in June 2009 and would like to get on the property ladder as soon as possible. My wife and I applied for a mortgage last February/March and were turned down twice on the basis of my poor credit history. This was not entirely surprising as I had, in the past, had to default on a number of credit accounts in order to start my IVA.

My question is this: Will I have to wait until all of these "black marks" disappear from my credit file before applying for a mortgage again, or is there a chance that my credit score will improve sufficiently before that time comes? If my understanding is correct, the defaults stay on your credit file for 6 years, which means I might not be able to think about buying again until January 2013. Ideally I would like to buy a place much sooner than that if at all possible.

Any advice and/or help would be very gratefully received!

Yorkie1

We read on here quite a few threads from people with credit difficulties in their recent history, who are struggling to get mortgages. The usual advice that I can remember is indeed that it is better to wait until they are off the record or at least older than yours, and to get as big a deposit as possible. For example, the few lenders who have 90% LTV mortgages are very picky and I'd think that you wouldn't stand much of a chance with them.

That being said, only a broker who has your full facts and details of your full credit history would be able to give a more definitive answer.