Previous address confusion jeopardising mortgage application?

disgruntled_tenant

Hi,

As a first time buyer, I had an agreement in principal, saw a flat under budget, made an accepted offer. Using a whole market mortgage broker to try and get a mortgage of less than 3 times salary, using 10-15% deposit. Broker has tried 2 so far, but 2 problems occur. I have always lived within my means and so never had an overdraft, credit card or used credit. And in order to save money, I moved 3 times in 3 years. 1 of these properties was an informal agreement with a landlady - filled out electoral roll form but seems it was not sent off. And the other 2 addresses are converted flats - both of which go by different addresses depending on which address data base you use. (confusion between top and first floor flat names) .

If I use one of the credit checking services to update and correct details, will these details be changed for all data bases that mortgage companies use? I am filling in another electoral roll form to confirm my current address, but as a lot of the mortgage applications rely on computers, will I continuously run into problems if the computer doesn't see the correct flat name in my address?

According to the mortgage broker, I am an 'ideal mortgage customer' (maybe they all say that) but working in education, with a regular salary it seems that I'm hitting a brick wall as 'the computer says no'. Mortgage broker is now trying to sort a mortgage with another no credit scoring company to get round this... but again it could fall down due to the electoral roll data at present...

Has anyone got any advice etc? Can previous electoral roll details be amended in retrospect? My bank have suggested that they would also look at my account details when deciding on a mortgage, but haven't confirmed that would definitely accept me, and would give me a mortgage rate of at least 1% higher than what the broker is currently looking at.

Should I shelve the flat buying plans for the moment, or are there any other ways around it?

Hope some of this makes sense,

Dave_Ham

On the face of it, this would appear to be an issue with your broker and not you.

If they have not asked you to get your Experian and Equifax reports, then the issue is on their shoulders.

If this is the case, get your Experian, Equifax and Call Credit (if possible) and put them in front of a more experienced broker.

I would suggest that you have had a current account throughout this time and therefore you should have a credit file on the addresses.

Good luck

disgruntled_tenant

Hi, thanks for that.

So are you saying that I would need to check and update each of those credit reports? Or would changing one report change another?

I tried to sign up with Experian today, but got as far as a screen asking me to call their call centre, but was on hold and couldn't get through. The application process also gave variations of my previous addresses. I'll try the landline number given on this website during office hours.

My current account is linked to all my addresses for the past 3 years (and more) , and my mobile phone contract has been billed to all 3 addresses. My work records / payslips should also be linked to these addresses.

I have explained the issue of addresses to my broker and he has made the current mortgage provider that is being applied to aware - apparently they are looking at the equifax report and he has made them aware of the address issues...

disgruntled_tenant

Any further ideas anyone? Do you think there is a chance I will get a mortgage at present, or should I try and rectify the addresses, build up a good credit rating using credit cards and try again in 6 months?

Dave_Ham

You cannot amend electoral information retrospectively.

You are trying to solve something, which on the face of it should be easy.

Rather than changing the fixed information on the credit files, present to an appropriate lender in a fashion where they can trace you.

Either the broker or the lender/s are making a simple process hard work.

Experian_company_representative

Certainly worth finding out how your addresses are recorded on your credit report and being guided by that when presenting the information to a lender. Try to avoid applying for other credit immediately before applying for a mortgage, but if you are going to wait a while then using a credit card to build some positive credit history during that time could be helpful.

James Jones

disgruntled_tenant

Thanks for your reply.

Just out of interest, I tried to apply for access to my experian credit account on line and got an error message, with a reference number. I tried to call the number listed, but was presented with a number of options that didn't seem to relate to the issue and was hold for quite a while, not being able to speak to get through to anyone.

Could you advise which option numbers would be best to choose when trying to complete the signing up process?

Thanks.

redonion

disgruntled_tenant wrote: »

Thanks for your reply.

Just out of interest, I tried to apply for access to my experian credit account on line and got an error message, with a reference number. I tried to call the number listed, but was presented with a number of options that didn't seem to relate to the issue and was hold for quite a while, not being able to speak to get through to anyone.

Could you advise which option numbers would be best to choose when trying to complete the signing up process?

I don't remember the option numbers, but rest assured that your experience is normal. I think I was on hold for maybe 15 minutes, then another 5 minutes. And the staff member I spoke to hadn't figured out that, on a bad line, it helps to say things like "got that" or "pardon" to indicate whether you heard or not. Nope, just stony silence either way :mad:

I had to send them some proofs of ID - I'd guess it'll be the same for you. You can do that by uploading a file on the web, or by posting it to them. True to form, they will not reply to let you know when they've received the proof of ID (!) so if you post it like me, just keep trying to log in every day or so until it works.

redonion

Dave_Ham wrote: »

You cannot amend electoral information retrospectively.

You are trying to solve something, which on the face of it should be easy.

Rather than changing the fixed information on the credit files, present to an appropriate lender in a fashion where they can trace you.

Either the broker or the lender/s are making a simple process hard work.

This is interesting: so for incomplete information relating to addresses, you can provide extra information (viz. where you really lived, and where you didn't). But, from what I gather from a recent thread I started on the subject, for incomplete information relating to CC payments, you can't provide extra information (viz. proof of bank balance showing you could pay, and therefore would pay if your mortgage depended on it - as opposed to credit card payments whose significance beyond a small late fee was entirely lost on you at the time!). Why the difference, I wonder?

A quick note for anybody replying to this: Please take a moment to reflect that my question is about what causes the system to behave this way, not about how it behaves. That's not foot stamping or special pleading. So helpful responses are "this is why it works this way", and not "that's the way it works, chump" - I already know that, thank you, and that's not what my question is about. Thanks!