Applying for FTB mortgage tomorrow: DOs & DON'Ts?

alan_partridge

Eve1975 wrote: »

This is an interesting. I posted on the bankruptcy forum the other day regarding Halifax and how I was treated.
I went bankrupt coming up 6 years ago so will be off my file this summer. Me and my partner will be looking to buy a house and he should have around £100,000 for a deposit, so we will have a LTV of around 50%. I phoned the Halifax to get a feel of where I stand as a discharged bankrupt. I was told in no uncertain terms as I was not a customer of theirs and was bankrupt previously they would never lend to me and would find it hard to find anyone to lend to me!

i was told the same over the phone (albeit not as rudely as you seem to have suffered!), and this is what halifax publish on their web site (as well as most high street lenders) as someone quoted earlier in the thread, but hopefully you will find they are a little more forgiving and willing to listen in the branch

i would definitely recommend that anyone who wants a mortgage make appointments with their local high street lenders and has a sit down chat first and foremost.. as i say, in my experience, they all say that they won't touch bankrupts with a barge pole on their web sites & in their marketing bumf, but i got a couple of quotes from different lenders simply by going in, having a chat, laying all my cards on the table and asking for their help..

good luck with your application!

kingstreet

Thanks to AP for bumping this thread.

An interesting email dropped in my inbox on 19 September. I'm sure the other brokers had it.

Despite the question being "have you ever...?" this is the new instruction from Halifax;-

Bankruptcy/CCJ/arrears questions

As part of the submission process you're asked if the customer has ever been declared bankrupt. This should only be answered 'yes' if it's happened within the last six years. This six year rule should also be applied to the other questions about CCJ's and arrears.

So perhaps we're now being told what the branches knew all along! :mad:

droiderm

I just noticed your post kings, as AP linked it from another thread.

I am due to complete in a couple of days with Nationwide, but as the time comes the worry increases of something going wrong, especially with my history.

I have been considering a back up plan today, I really don't think there is one!

However, I was checking if the lending criteria of the NewBuy lenders had changed since I looked around 6 months ago.

I did indeed notice that comment from the Halifax, but it's a little strangely worded.

The wording on the intermediaries site is

The Bankruptcy question should be answered as yes if you have had a bankruptcy/IVA or Debt Relief Order within the last 6 years OR still have an outstanding Bankruptcy Restriction Order.

Does that read to you, that you have to be discharged for 6 years? i.e. 7 years since date of BR? The BR lasts for the whole first year.

alan_partridge

droiderm wrote: »

I just noticed your post kings, as AP linked it from another thread.

I am due to complete in a couple of days with Nationwide, but as the time comes the worry increases of something going wrong, especially with my history.

I have been considering a back up plan today, I really don't think there is one!

However, I was checking if the lending criteria of the NewBuy lenders had changed since I looked around 6 months ago.

I did indeed notice that comment from the Halifax, but it's a little strangely worded.

The wording on the intermediaries site is



Does that read to you, that you have to be discharged for 6 years? i.e. 7 years since date of BR? The BR lasts for the whole first year.

just to let you know, when i successfully applied for mine, i watched them answer YES to the question "Has the applicant ever been bankrupt", so either way i wouldn't worry

edit: the "6 year" thing, for all purposes, is 6 years from the date that your BR is declared..

kingstreet

The only other lender I've spoken to about this recently was Leeds BS and they said six years from date of discharge.

With no guidance to the contrary I would use six years after discharge for all lenders unless I had different advice upfront.

TBH it's such a small part of what we do (had one enquiry for such a case in the last ten years) it's not something I keep completely up to date with.

In this job, you keep totally up to date with what you do each day (newbuild, HTB etc) and research other stuff at the time you need it.