Mortgage Brokers....

SavingSassy

I was talking to one of my colleagues today who has just bought a house for the first time. She said her credit rating was not great at all and she only had a 5% deposit.

Now, I am paying off my debt and saving for a deposit. As my plan stands, I have two years to wait and will have a 10-20% deposit and no debt to my name :j

I have become intrigued when she mentioned her mortgage broker - I applied for a mortgage last year with a building society/broker and was turned down with a 5% deposit.

As far as I'm aware from what she's said, I am in a much better position than she is yet she has bought this house (physically has the keys to it) and she says that she owes it to this broker as she didn't think she would get a mortgage at all. She bought the house for £145,000, with a 5% deposit and is paying £550 a month.

I might sound really naïve, but how could she have done this? Can/do some mortgage brokers bend rules?

I feel a bit hard done by and also rather jealous! :rotfl: She gave me the contact details for this broker, however, I feel a little wary - it sounds like I could get what I want, but can't help but think I shouldn't get it when I have been told by the building society to save up some more deposit (and I know I will feel fantastic with my debt gone!).

I am wanting to stick to my plan - although I must say I am tempted as I know I could afford the mortgage with my debt as I am paying more in rent at the moment!

Does anyone have any views or experience on this?

amnblog

It sounds like your friend has someone who helped her and could help you.

Of course, if you believe the building society employee you met knows everything about the options in the whole of the UK mortgage market, and would tell you if they thought you could get lending elsewhere, that is entirely a matter for you.

ACG

To be honest, what you/your friend think is a better situation could be completely wrong... For instance, i have seen people with £150 defaults being declined yet people with £2,500 defaults getting a mortgage, it all comes down to dates, times, the rest of the application.

That being said, there are ways of selecting the right lender, which will come down to your credits reports and what they show.

A good broker is like a good a accountant and worth their weight in gold. They know how to play the system to their advantage without breaking the rules (which then falls into mortgage fraud).

It could also be that your friend has used one of those government back schemes maybe? So in reality she may only own half or 75% of the property at the minute and paying rent on the share she doesnt own.

There are quite a few ifs and buts at this stage but i wouldnt rule out getting a mortgage until you have spoken to a decent broker.

SavingSassy

Thank you both for your replies. It has opened my eyes up, I was quite upset to know that I was getting nowhere, but it appears that maybe I wasn't looking in the right place. (The mortgage broker I spoke to was also working for the building society and didn't have access to the full market). Maybe I don't need to wait my two years then! Will concentrate on just shifting this debt down a bit more :-)

Thank you again.