Mortgage application, brokers and unsecured debt

TB123

Hi all,

Me and my husband went to a broker a few months ago to see what the chances of us getting a mortgage would be. The main issue being the amount of unsecured debt that we have. We were told that this would be fine however, when The broker has applied he has said that two lenders have declined. I have checked our credit scores and they are rated good and excellent. I asked the broker to check whether it was the amount we were asking for, but he said he had went back to the lenders with a lower amount and it was still refused.

My question is whether we should just try and clear some debts over the next year or so and retry, or try someone else ie another broker or my own bank? I am now getting anxious that we will have multiple credit searches on our file on top of everything else.


Any advice would be much appreciated!

Conrad

Impossible to answer. Credit scoring is a very complex affair, way more to it than just paying debts on time.

So I'm afraid you either have to take the plunge and try another score now, or sit tight.

Do bare in mind that brokers skill levels vary widely. An experienced good broker knows how to maximise a persons mortgage score. I can't stress enough the importance of presenting your case in the best possible manner.

Having quite a bit of debt is a worry for lenders but there are ways to mitigate a lenders risk.

Good luck

TB123

Thanks for the reply. We decided on a broker as thought they would have the appropriate knowledge of the market to target the right lenders. However I have not been impressed with the experience we have had to date.

As I had no personal recommendations for anyone, I just googled and selected someone locally who was authorised by the FSA. Is there anything I can do to ensure that the broker is suitably experienced? To be honest, if he had said we had no chance of getting a mortgage I would have left it at that. It was they fact we were told there would be no problem and have spent the last month or so house hunting that is slightly frustrating.

Conrad

TB123 wrote: »

Is there anything I can do to ensure that the broker is suitably experienced?

You can call the FSA and ask how long the person has been authorised for mortgages (some would say check on the FSA website but it can be tricky).

Other than that it's down to your personal gut feel really.

From what you've experienced they seem like typical know nothings to me. Classic line telling people all will be well at AIP stage, which would indicate they are overly optimistic - a very bad traite in a broker. Brokers who worry about small details are sucessful, because details matter.

If you find a broker is overly chatty about unrelated matters, thats a sign they aren't paying attention to details. Bascially they are a sales person rather than a detail cruncher. I used to know one that had pictures of his kids facing outwards on his desk so that customers would feel obliged to ask after them at which point he'd be off into irrelevance, not focused on the job in hand.


There were a number of happy clappy brokers here on this forum in 2008 that always put a positive (false) spin on everything and none of them lasted in the business.

I can't really recommend anyone, and in any event I don't know what area you live in.

ACG

We need to know your incomes, unsecured debt, mortgage your looking for to have a basic idea.

Dave_Ham

If you find a broker is overly chatty about unrelated matters, thats a sign they aren't paying attention to details. Bascially they are a sales person rather than a detail cruncher. I used to know one that had pictures of his kids facing outwards on his desk so that customers would feel obliged to ask after them at which point he'd be off into irrelevance, not focused on the job in hand.



This is a wind up right?

Pretty much sums up most of your posts..

In all seriousness OP, if you want to provide more information as ACG asked earlier we will be in a better position to judge likliness of success.

Unsecured debt does not prevent you achieving a mortgage, but does make it a bit tougher.

Please give a few more details and we will happily determine your opportunity.

All the best

rising_from_the_ashes

I've used the Which? service recently and they were fantastic - they will tell you which is the best deal, even if it's not a lender they deal with directly.

http://www.whichmortgageadvisers.co.uk/

TB123

A few more details..

My income £50k, husbands £55k
Total debts £25k credit cards, 7k loan, 7k HP for car

We have approx £25k saved towards deposit which I'm now thinking we should just use to pay off cards and start saving again.

We were looking for a £200-225k loan.

Thanks

Dave_Ham

Bad broker - estate agent one perhaps??

Subject to no defaults or CCJ's or continued late/sloppy credit card repayments you will be fine.

Jut put into a couple of calculators and this should fit fine, may need to be presented appropriately.

All the best

TB123

I've just put our details in a few affordability calculators and they have all come back in line with what we were after. I have even got an agreement in principle from HSBC although considering the limited number of questions they asked I am not certain how useful it is.

We have just pulled out of a property we had an offer accepted on yesterday based on the advice we were given by the broker. Do you think we were too hasty?

Thrugelmir

TB123 wrote: »

Total debts £25k credit cards, 7k loan, 7k HP for car

We have approx £25k saved towards deposit which I'm now thinking we should just use to pay off cards and start saving again.

Would seem a sensible idea. Given your joint incomes shouldn't take long to build a sizable deposit.