Mortgage - Late payments on credit reports

sophieev

Hello

I know this has been done before and I have done a search etc., but I am still not very clear on this. Any assistance would be appreciated.

I am applying for a mortgage jointly. My credit reports are all fine and no missed payments. Same for my partner's credit report, except for partner's mobile phone payments which are as follows (on Experian - this seems to go further back than the others):

1 - 12 months back - All "0"s (i.e. fine)

13-24 months back - Ten "0"s and two "1"s (in June and April 2011)

25-36 months - Nine "0"s, three "1"s

37-48 months - Eight "0"s, four "1"s

49-60 months - Seven "0"s, five "1"s

61-72 months - One "0", one "2" and one "1"


I really cannot get a feel for quite how serious this is.

Some seem to say if it is just a mobile phone contract then don't worry and it's basically not an issue. Others seem to say with one late payment on anything you are basically stuffed and you may as well forget trying to get a mortgage.

If anyone (particularly any of the brokers) could shed some light on just how much of an issue this is likely to be / provide any advice then we would be very grateful.

Just by way of further info - no other defaults, Experian rates us both (for what that is worth) as "Excellent". Combined salary of £145,000, looking to borrow approx £473,000 at 75% LTV. If any other info would be helpful I can pass this on.


Thanks

leereni

I'm certainly no expert but you're in a much better situation than most on here.

HappyMJ

Missed payments over a year ago aren't too bad...and mobile phone contracts can be ignored by the underwriter if you ask.

sophieev

Thanks.

I am not sure whether I am making a mountain out of a molehill here or not. And I do appreciate that this situation really is not the same as the more pressing issues faced by some on here.

It is a bit of an embarrassing one to ask I suppose, it is just that one minute I hear that a few late mobile payments are not an issue at all. The next I hear that one late payment on anything will mean you will fail to get a mortgage (or at least certainly fail to get a decent rate). I suspect the answer lies between the two and perhaps it is the case that some lenders (maybe HSBC, Accord) would turn us down whereas others may be more lenient. Or it could mean we might only be able to access higher rates. I don't know.

We have been in touch with two brokers. One seemed disinterested in this - e.g. we sent off the credit reports but they were not even looked at by the broker. The other was better and we are continuing to talk, but he is now away for a while. And in any case I thought it would be helpful to canvass opinion as far as possible.

To be honest I have found this forum generally more helpful than the brokers I have contacted so far. Which may mean I need to look elsewhere for a broker....

GMS

Accord has a disproportionate follow on rate so you need to keep this in mind. Whilst you would probably look to refinance elsewhere at the end of initial term if there is a reason you can't you would potentially be held on a high rate.

Of course this could happen with any lender but Accord are higher than others now so it is a consideration.

Think you have been unlucky with broker selection. Might be worth looking for another one.

Get copies of Equifax too in order to check what data they hold.

Good luck

sophieev

Thanks.
That is something we have considered. I do not think we would be going with Accord anyway as we have heard that they are both extremely picky and extremely slow.

I have all the reports - Equifax, Noddle and Experian. After weeks and ££££s of phone calls these are all now sort of correct, except that Equifax shows that I have no "credit agreements" and therefore have a poor rating. This is incorrect but since all my credit agreements are with entities that do not (and will not) provide information to Equifax, I am really not sure what I can do other than tell the broker that we cannot go with a lender that relies on Equifax. It is quite frutstrating really. I really am not impressed with these agencies, but that is another story....

All the reports show the late mobile payments, but they should as these are (sadly) facts !

lynsey1977

Hi Sophieev

My Husband and I are in exactly the same situation as yourselves, his payment history is excellent, however I have a number of late payments from 3.5+ years ago and Im really not sure if these will still affect our mortgage application. We have spoken to a mortgage broker who seems confident that he can help us and we have an appointment with him on Monday. I will let you know how we get on and if we succesfully manage to obtain a AIP! fingers crossed!

sophieev

Thanks

I think he was naive about this. To be fair this is all a bit "computer says no", because a human being reviewing our credit position would clearly see that we are good credits, but I suppose they need to have some kind of system.

For what it is worth we have an AIP from Halifax, but I am really not sure if that means anything.

Good luck - let us know how you get on

Wh05apk

At this LTV, I do not feel it will be an issue, be careful as Halifax AIP does not do a full credit search.

I am amazed at the experience you have had with your broker, a mortgage the size you are looking for would earn them a decent amount, and well worth a bit of effort.

sophieev

Thanks
Yes - I was a little miffed by the broker experience. But when you have nothing to compare it to, it is difficult to know whether something really is wrong. I began to feel more and more that it was, and then coming on this site just backed that up. I was really looking for a little more support.

To be honest I would be happy to pay a decent sum to a broker if I knew I was going to get someone that would really get into our case and fight our corner.

GMS

There would be plenty of brokers willing to take this on.

Discussions with lender reps would be best to assess the impact of the missed payments. Get copies of credit files to a broker and go from there.