Moving house and only "good" credit

psman

Hiya

I'm looking for some advice in my options. I'm trying to get a mortgage for a property in the 155k range, but I can only afford a 10% deposit. I got a first application turned down a couple of weeks ago because of a default that was showing in my CallCredit file (not in the others). This default was a mistake and has now being corrected (no longer shows), though there is indeed a trace of the search by Skipton in that credit file as a consequence of the declined application.

Since we thought the main issue was simply that default we put another application with a different lender once that problem was sorted, but this one has also been turned down on the grounds that my credit score with Equifax is only good rather than excellent (which it is with Experian). I knew things were tight, but not this tight. So, I have two questions:

1) Are there any half decent deals out there for people in my situation?
2) Any suggestions in how to take it from here? I don't want to end up having a zillion applications turned down.

Many thanks in advance for your time and consideration.

kingstreet

Same advice to all FTBs when they start.

Order your £2 statutory credit files from all three CRAs. Ignore daft numbers and pretty colours as they mean nothing. You can get a 999 credit "score" with no income. No chance of a mortgage.

When you get the files, take them along to an independent or whole market broker to source the most likely lender and best deal for you.

Equifax

https://www.econsumer.equifax.co.uk/consumer/uk/gb_consumerletter.ehtml

Experian

https://secure.wiseconsumer.uk.experian.com/wiseconsumer/secure_index.html?data=00

CallCredit

https://www.callcredit.co.uk/stat-report-online/index.php?action=register_display&tpl=regPurchase

GMS

As kingstreet says, get the reports and see a broker. If you have been declined twice then it is time to go for the most suitable lender for you, not go chasing rates as too many applications will ruin your credit score.

Also consider appying for £100 less than the 90% as this can sometimes mean easier scoring as the application is 89.99% (for instance)

psman

Thanks for the advice.

I had the reports from the three credit rating agencies. That's what really annoys me about the second refusal. The broker should have known best because they had this information. I know that in these forums some participants have emphasised the difference between independent and whole-market brokers. I guess I just have to join the ranks of those naive enough not to understand the difference and to have been let down by L&C.

I didn't realise a 100£ could make a difference in the risk scores the lenders use. Again, not something I heard from the whole-market brokers. They explicitly said it made no difference for the application, I assume they were only thinking in terms of the rates. Thanks again.

kingstreet

GMS has been around for a while, so have I.

Applying for 89.9% is an old Abbey trick from around 12-15 years ago IIRC and it's stood me in good stead.