Mortgage Approval Help

dsavvy83

Hi

I have just checked my credit score and under Credit agreements i have a caution, i have a few credit cards with zero balance on them and one with about 3k on it,

Should i cancel all my cards with zero balance on them?

I don't have any debts such as loans etc.. the only loan i have is the student loan which doesn't show up on the credit report.

Should i be concerned about this caution rating as i don't think my report is that bad since i pay everything off in time and settled!!!

Should i leave a note in the mortgage application form explaining this?

Your help is appreciated i am a first time buyer with my wife, and i am scared they will not pass my credit check.

dsavvy83

Oh and some more updates, we have had a bid accepted and we have filled out the mortgage form and going to send it tomorrow, shall we put more details in the additional notes section to explain the credit report?

kingstreet

Credit scores from CRAs are indicative at best, misleading at worst.

Mortgage lenders are more concerned about the overall picture, such as the deposit you have and the income and employment data you are declaring.

A balance on a credit card will reduce what you can borrow, but this shouldn't make too much difference as long as you aren't up near the maximum for your income.

Cancelling cards now is just too late. You need them to feed onto your credit file and this can take a few weeks.

dsavvy83

thanks, i'm stressing out here,

we are well within our budget we should be ok, are there are any do's and dont's on a mortgage form we should put? because we really want to move into this place...

kingstreet

As my old Halifax BDM suggested a few years ago;-

- always complete the form fully
- complete all the requested telephone numbers
- if it says how long with bank, use the time since you opened your first current account, not the present one
- keep your payments up to date
- get a M&S chargecard.

I'm not sure how effective the last one of those may be now.

dsavvy83

M&S charge card? i have a credit card with 0% interest for 15 months...
The current account i am using has only been opened for 9 months and my oldest one is about 14 years! so i will use 14 years...
Where it has include additional information, shall i explain the credit cards as to why there are so many?
Tricky to see what to put on these forms..

kingstreet

dsavvy83 wrote: »

M&S charge card?
Where it has include additional information, shall i explain the credit cards

The charge card no longer exists. It was phased out when HSBC became the M&S credit supplier.

There's no point talking about your credit cards. They can see what you've got and what the balances are from their search. Just make sure you get the correct balances in the boxes and you'll be fine.

dsavvy83

oh ok, good, because i was just going to put approximate values, for instance £3128 actual, i was just going to put down £3000 <-- so that is not ok?

mic200202

The important things are to make sure you are on the voters roll for current address,and that both the lender and product are suitable for you circumstances.Credit balances that are not being paid off on completion should be put in as the lender will treat these as an outgoing to check affordability.Some lenders ask for a total balance for credit cards or a total monthly payment.They will go by the figs they can see on credit check.If you are not totally comfortable with the process then use a broker to assist you.

kingstreet

dsavvy83 wrote: »

oh ok, good, because i was just going to put approximate values, for instance £3128 actual, i was just going to put down £3000 <-- so that is not ok?

Put down the balance, credit limit etc from your last statement. Try not to guess, estimate or round up or down.

dsavvy83

kingstreet wrote: »

Put down the balance, credit limit etc from your last statement. Try not to guess, estimate or round up or down.

good thing i spoke to you today, i was just going to pt it appx numbers