bad credit affecting mortgage - help!

liz09

We're just looking into get a mortgage for a 195,000 property we only have a 5% deposit.

I had some problems early in 2004 and basically had to close an Abbey National Joint account because the fees had racked up as I went over my limit. I agreed to pay half the fees (around £600) and close the account. It now shows as an arrangement. Now it appears this may affect me getting a mortgage even though my pay has doubled since then and I have made no more late payments. I've been informed that after three years it's not so important but obviously that's six months away and I want to buy a property now.

Firstly has anyone any experience of this and whether it's affected you getting mainstream mortgages. We want the Bristol and West (Giraffe) 3 or 5 year fix.

Secondly - at the time I didn't realise I was making an arrangement I just thought they were reducing the fees because of the amount. They never informed me of the situation it would put me in. Is there a complaint I can bring with the bank??

Any advice appreciated.

Cheers
Liz

Conrad

Bristol & West tend to decline where adverse credit history shows up.

Will largely depend upon your overall credit score which is impossible to quantify until you apply. I realise you can obtain a credit score from a credit agency but lenders often give different results to these.

Lenders such as C & G are now entering the sub - prime market.

In a nut shell you will need to apply for an agreement in principle in order to establish your position.


RE COMPLAINT:

I dont think you will have grounds. When you sign - up for credit you enter an agreement in which you agree to pay your debts on time and in full just as you expect your employer to pay your salary on time and in full.
The agreement will have made reference to the consequences of failing to keep your side of the bargain, no matter what the reason so the Abbey will argue you had prior knowledge and had accepted your obligations and the consequences of not meeting them.

So best of luck with the mortgage, but I dont think you will have sucess with the complaint.

UK007BullDog

Forget B&W and C&G they are both very picky and regarding your adverse history.

The Chelsea might be better for you. However your 5% deposit might just not do it. If I were you I would wait the 6 months to let that adverse go into the 3 year bracket, in the mean time save up as much money as you can to get you as close as possible to a 10% deposit or pay off any loans or credit cards outstanding.

MortgageMamma

There are plenty of lenders that will do this for you but please don't take the lenders mentioned above as specific recommendtions. As bank charges are now unlawful, why don't you try and claim back the bank charges as per martins article? If you win the case (as most people do, and I did also) you could ask abbey to remove the blemish from your credit rating and they would have to do this. This would take a while, about 2 months to be honest but it would put you in better stead for the future and give you a bit of cash towards a bigger deposit as well.

As for the mortgages itself, do take advice from a FEE's FREE professional whole of market broker, they will find the right lender for you and take the pressure off.

MM