Could I get a mortgage?

ste668

Hi everyone. First post on here; just after a bit of advice re mortgages as I am absolutely clueless! Basically I am wanting your opinion as to whether I could actually obtain a mortgage given my circumstances.
My situation is: I am 45, never had a mortgage so first time buyer. Renting at present (local authority, same landlord for 4 years). Heres the problematic part; in the past I have had pretty bad debt / credit problems. Going back, 5 yrs ago I had approx £35k debt on credit cards – a real mess, history of late / missed payments, one moved to a collection agency. My financial situation has improved dramatically over recent yrs and about 2 months I reduced the debt to zero. Have a full time job with a salary around £16k (same employer for 10 yrs) and also run a business from home which makes me a profit of around £10.5k after tax (have all accounts / tax returns from starting the biz). Want to buy a very low priced property. I have seen a house I am keen on for (believe it or not), £45k and can probably manage about £7k deposit. Given my age I would like a mortgage over a fairly short term (10-12 years maybe?).
Although I have no debt and feel I can comfortably afford a mortgage I am worried that my credit history will go against me. I recently had an application for a business account at my own bank declined. After endless phone calls to find out the reason I was told that as the credit card I once had with them (HSBC) was moved over to Metropolitan collection services, even though it is now paid off I would have to wait 6 years from the date of the debt being cleared until they could offer me any credit / new accounts!
Sorry for the long post, but does anyone think I am realistically in a position to get a mortgage loan and if so what is the max I could borrow and where should I start? Thanks

Dave_Ham

Start from the top, you need to achieve your Experian, Equifax and Call Credit files.

The £2 statutory reports will be ok, but you need to detail exactly what remains on there in terms of any defaults, missed payments etc.

Sounds like you have potential to be accepted, but dependent wholly on the content of these reports.

All the best

ste668

Thanks. I got the £2 Experian report. It shows a few late payments over the last few years but now I have paid all the debt off what can I actually do about those missed payments in the past. What can I do to give myself the best chance?

Dave_Ham

Get all 3 reports, as they are not the same and put them all in front of a broker.

It will cost you nothing to be told the situation you are in.

The missed payments will depend upon when, how many consecutively and what the credit control has looked like since - and importantly the lender selection.