Dilemma - Questions

Chez1D

Hi,

I'm in need of some guidence on / pointing in right direction for options on the best way forward for me.

Basic background: Long & short, the partner has had some lean work periods & also problems with delayed client payments and we're really starting to struggle with the money side, and I've now had OD fees etc levelled on my bank account due to needing to pay rent / bills etc to cover and these charges have caused me to be over my overdraft limit for 3 or 4 months now - and the bank is asking for full payment to boot now. We really need to move asap otherwise the situation will just spiral downwards making our options more difficult.

I'm already looking at putting in a claim for the Bank Charges anyway, so I will of course be adding these to them, but in the meantime dont want to really pay them off totally until I put my claim in. Unless of course I'm advised here to do so and then just take all the amount I get from the bank for myself.

I've got some money coming to me shortly, which I will be using to pay off the two loans & 1 credit card (which are not huge balances - approx 5k in total & I'm not behind with any of them atm). The balance I am looking to put some aside for the moving costs & the rest down as a deposit on a house which will equate to about 50% of the Value of the properties we're looking at (we're looking to relocate to Wales).

I'm looking at a single mortgage which will easily be covered by my paye earnings (5 years with employer), but although not hugely bad - my credit rating / history is not exactly brilliant either. Several late payments (especially recently) & now of course I'm sure the bank will have added their latest dig too. As I will also need to change banks (as there are hardly any branches of my current bank located in wales) I'm worried that multiple checks will mean I risk not getting a mortgage / bank account. Also, as per above, we really need to move sooner rather than later - as we cant afford to stay where we are much longer.

From my initial calculations, the mortgage repayments will be approx 1/4 to 1/3 of what we're paying in rent atm, so even on my salary alone - this is realistic. I am also planning on doing an incoming/outgoing sheet including household budget to submit to "whoever" prior to doing a full application.

So my questions are : What would be my best order of action ? Am I likely to even be granted a mortgage ? What would have the least impact from a Credit Search angle - bearing in mind we may have to move to rented accomodation in wales in the meantime. We've seen a couple of properties we're interested in, but of course they could be gone by the time we have things in place.

Do I get a new bank account first, then enquire about a mortgage and subsequently notify everyone of change of address if needs be ?

or do I do the mortgage bit first, then the bank account, then move if needs be ?

Or do we move first, then do the other things ?

I would welcome any comments / advice / pointers etc as having read some threads here, would rather ask the questions before starting a route that would actually harm what we're trying to do.

And if you've read this far :rotfl: Many Thanks
Chez