1st Time Buyer With CCJ (PAID) Needs Options

jb22002

Hi,
I'm not the most clued up when it comes to mortgages although I have read up on a few things.
Here's my problem:
A few years ago I was with an ex who I (stupidly) got a phone contract out for- long story short- he ran up a huge bill of £321! I told him he had to pay, we split up before he did, I told him to ring and pay by card over the phone, I presumed he had. All the mail from the phone company went to his address so that he had the bills and knew what he had to pay every month. Because of this I didn't receive any letters informing me that the bill hadn't been paid (my mistake, I know). It was only a few months ago that I decided to do a credit check on myself as I now have a new partner that I am engaged to and we are looking to buy our own home and it showed up that I had a CCJ linked to the phone contract.
Obviously my ex had not paid this.
So I then paid this amount off two weeks ago but the CCJ is from around 6 years ago.
I know that CCJ's usually last on your records for around 6 years- is this 6 years from the start of the CCJ or 6 years from when it has been paid as this is unclear to me??
I'm hoping it's from the start obviously but I'm not sure if this is the case.

My credit history hasn't always been great- when I turned 18 it was, then I got store cards (worst mistake ever) which I couldn't keep up with the repayments- these got passed on and I had to repay them, I got a loan to pay them off which I struggled with too (another young mistake) and then the CCJ but now with everything being classed as settled on my account I'm hoping it will improve- does anyone know how long this will take?

Me and my partner are looking to move in together within the next year (or two, max) and I'm wondering if anyone knows what options we have as to if credit history will count against us or if it will have cleared now?

He has a pretty good credit history so that should work in our favour but it's me I'm worried about.

Do you think I'm going to have major problems?
I've heard about mortgages that start in one persons name and the other person can be added to the mortgage after a certain amount of time- do you think this could be an option?
My partners salary is £24,000 and mine is £15,000 and he is 30 while I am 24.

Any advice anyone could give would be really appreciated as I'm a bit clueless :-/ (Sorry for waffling on! )

Thanks

guesswho2000

The CCJ runs for six years from the date of judgement, paid or not. If the judgement was made on 1 Dec 2006, it'll expire on 1 Dec 2012, for example.

It'll possibly take a month or so to disappear from the CRA files (although it shouldn't), but once it's gone it won't affect you at all.

So in short, find out the date of judgement, once the six year mark has passed check all three CRA files (Equifax, Experian and Call credit) to ensure they're clear, then assuming no other marks (missed payments, defaults etc) or overcommittal (loads of outstanding debt, even if it's up to date) then you should be fine

jb22002

Thanks so much!! That is great news!
When I paid the CCJ they said to wait 30-40 days so I'm just going to start checking them all in about a month to be safe.

Just another quick question if you don't mind?
If it is clear will I have to build my credit back up again or will it just go back to normal automatically?

And what would you suggest as the best way to go about doing it if I need to build it back up?

Thanks again for your help!! I'm really happy now!!

Dave_Ham

Definitely the start, you need to get really close to the Experian, Equifax and Call Credit reports and see what is on there.

They will give you the exact dates and you can see how much/little damage the store cards have done to your overall credit file.

You may want to chuck this case past a broker, rather than pot luck in a branch although I would be hopeful of you staying with a highstreet bank...

guesswho2000

jb22002 wrote: »

Thanks so much!! That is great news!
When I paid the CCJ they said to wait 30-40 days so I'm just going to start checking them all in about a month to be safe.

Just another quick question if you don't mind?
If it is clear will I have to build my credit back up again or will it just go back to normal automatically?

And what would you suggest as the best way to go about doing it if I need to build it back up?

Thanks again for your help!! I'm really happy now!!

No problem. With regard to your "credit rating", normal will depend on what credit you've had previously.

If you've got some well managed credit agreements (credit card, loan, credit scored current account, etc) then you should have enough history to make you appear attractive to prospective lenders again.

If you've had no credit at all in the last six years, then the CCJ dropping off is still a major bonus, but no history can be worse than poor history in some cases.

Once the CCJ is gone, I'd suggest getting any credit card (starting with your own bank, if they say no then a sub-prime offering such as Capitalone Classic, but don't make too many applications all at once) then use it for something each month (petrol, food, anything at all) and make sure it is paid off in full, on time every month and not over it's credit limit ever. This will go a long way to proving you can handle credit and may make life easier when applying for a mortgage.

jb22002

Thanks! I may well end up seeking a broker as this is probably our best option considering my history and lack of knowledge on mortgages.
Thanks!