First time buyer 0 credit rating what can i do?

martino17

Hi i have been saving like mad to put a deposit down on a house to buy...then i find out that my credit rating is 0/5 how badly is this going to affect my chances of getting a mortgage?.....and what can i do about this..

Ive never been in debt and always paid my car insurance off on time...never had a loan?

kingstreet

Get a credit card.

Spend money on it.

Receive statement and pay full balance within time allowed.

Rinse and repeat.



Seriously, get some credit and conduct it properly while you're saving. Pay it off as suggested to avoid paying interest. Don't be tempted to pay it back before the statement is produced or you'll achieve nothing.

If you're in a hurry, there are lenders who don't credit score who treat each case on its merits. Smaller building societies often work like this. Check out the locals in your area.

martino17

This is gonna seem a really dumb question but...lets say i go for the halifax all in one credit card, i make purchases with that..wait for my statement and then pay what i owe.....do i still pay any intrest?

zebbedee

martino17 wrote: »

This is gonna seem a really dumb question but...lets say i go for the halifax all in one credit card, i make purchases with that..wait for my statement and then pay what i owe.....do i still pay any intrest?

No, so long as you pay of the balance each month you will pay no interest. If you do not pay off the balance then yes you will pay interest. If you use the card to withdraw cash then interest acrues from the moment the withdrawal was made and they tend to pay off those items that acrue the least interest first.

brit1234

Get put on the electoral role and have a mobile phone contract.

CBR600F_2

kingstreet wrote: »

Don't be tempted to pay it back before the statement is produced or you'll achieve nothing.
.

Really? How come?

I applied for a credit card just to improve my credit rating, and the FA told me that it was fine to do it like this.

DVardysShadow

CBR600F wrote: »

Really? How come?

I applied for a credit card just to improve my credit rating, and the FA told me that it was fine to do it like this.

I knew nothing about this, but with a little thought, I reckon it will be the fact that if you pay back before the statement, no statement will be issued and you will not be recognised as owing anything, so you won't have a payment shown on your credit record - which will mean also that there will be no evidence of how good you are at paying.

Tixy

Thats right - if you pay back before the statement is generated it looks like you use no credit - so no 'green ticks' on your credit file.

CBR600F_2

So how long does it take for a statement to be generated?

Tixy

A statement is generated every month, exactly when depends on your statement date.

To build up a credit history pay in full after you receive the statement, but obviously before the due date.

mungobella

I don't think that's true about it not showing up on your credit report if you pay it off early. I pay mine off at the beginning of every month (sometimes right after purchases, if I'm feeling nervous) and the amount I've spent and paid off shows up on my credit report. It all goes into the statement, even if you are paying it off technically before the statement is generated. I order my statutory credit report every six months or so and I check it carefully, so I know it's in there for each of my credit cards.