Can I tell mortgage advisor not to disclose my personal information to spouse?

puzzledbylife

My spouse and I have recently had an offer accepted for a house. We're first time buyers. My spouse has recently had an inheritance of approx £100k, the offer was for £203k so will be looking for a mortgage of approx £103k (or probably a bit more in order to retain a cash buffer for a rainy day fund).

My spouse has an excellent credit rating, previously had a couple of credit cards and an overdraft but these were paid off in full on receipt of the inheritance. When checking his credit file a few months ago the only issue that flagged up was the large amount of credit, however this has now been paid off and one of the cards cancelled. His income is approx £24k.

My credit rating however is poor. There are a few defaults showing on my credit file and several unpaid debts. My spouse knows I have a poor credit rating but is unaware of the exact amounts etc (I know not everyone works like this but I'm just reporting the situation and would be most appreciative not to be lectured to disclose everything to him, all relationships work in different ways)

My spouse and I have never had any joint bank account or credit accounts so are not financially associated.

When we've discussed mortgage applications we were both aware that this would in all likelihood have to be done in his name only. We saw a mortgage advisor yesterday and explained to him that due to my poor credit rating we thought it would be sensible to just do the application in his name. I didn't want to go into great detail about my poor credit rating in front of my husband so just left it at that. However the advisor gave the impression that he would check both our credit reports before advising us on how to proceed.

When he went through his T&C he also discussed a part about Data Protection. Under these guidelines, would I be able to ask him either not to credit check me? Or if he does credit check me, could I ask him not to give my husband any details of the credit check but just to confirm we'd be better off just applying with his details?

I am in the process of dealing with my debts but it's a long process and is a way off being sorted. Thanks in advance for any help, I'm a very nervous newbie and am very scared of being lectured, but I would really appreciate some advice on my questions in light of the facts.

PeacefulWaters

If you have any financial links (e.g. joint account or joint loan) this will show up on a credit search made on just your spouse.

The mortgage adviser shouldn't disclose what's there, but will advise his customer to check his credit file if there's a problem.

Not a lecture, but I think you're playing a dangerous game hiding things. I'd suggest getting it out in the open. It may well prove to be easier to deal with as a couple.

Good luck.

jocstoke

He shouldn't tell anything you don't want him to. Good luck.

puzzledbylife

Thanks for the replies. We've never had any kind of joint bank account or loan. Our finances have always been completely separate.

I do know I should tell him everything, however I have severe trust issues due to a previous abusive relationship. My husband is aware of this and it's something I'm working on, just taking a long time. My debts are going down, but it's a slow process.

Funny_old_game

If the deposit origins are coming from you then you will find it very hard to get a lender to agree to this.

Ay that loan to value I would be surprised you dont source a mortgage. It may not be high street lenders but the rates won't be bad I would have thought.

puzzledbylife

Thanks for the reply. The deposit is coming from my husband, it was an inheritance he received.

Funny_old_game

Sorry......should be fine, but decide at that ltv you should be able to get a joint mortgage.

Mortgage_Mark_2

Puzzledbylife, I'm sorry to hear of your situation.

As far as lenders/brokers go - lenders don't and can't disclose exact reasons for a declined credit score, so in terms of brokers actually disclosing anything then there isn't anything to disclose other than the details of your credit report if you've provided it. Perhaps a better way would be to ask for a Decision in Principle instead of your broker assessing the credit reports? That way the lender will credit score you instead of a broker looking at your record, and you'll know one way or the other whether it's do-able in joint names, or just your husbands?

puzzledbylife

Thanks so much mortgage mark. The thing is, we're really not fussed about trying to get me on the mortgage. Do you think it would be better to just tell our mortgage advisor not to credit vet me but just process the application in my husband's name?

Mortgage_Mark_2

In all honesty, unless you're physically producing your credit report I don't think it will have any detrimental effect by trying in joint names initially, as the worst that will happen is the DIP will come back as a decline, and you can then try in just your husband's name? The reason will simply say 'failed credit score' or something similar so you retain that bit of anonymity over the specifics.

Eviesmummy

My husband and I are in a similar situation. His credit rating is awful. I only found out about his debts by accident, (and I wont lecture you) but it was almost enought to end our otherwise happy and stable relationship. It wasnt the amount (astronomical as it was) but the fact that he'd kept it hidden and lied me, that was the problem. I digress.....
I applied for our mortgage in my name only, I told our broker up front that his credit rating would be detrimental to any application and the broker didn't mention it again.
Good luck with your application.