Mortgage prep post-DAS (Scotland)

Wayne_Laura

Hi all

I got into debt in the past, and ended up on a DAS (Debt Arrangement Scheme) which basically saved my life

I now have around a year left until the debt is clear which will make me debt-free

The question is: What prep should I do now? My primary goal once the DAS is gone is to get a mortgage. It irks me no end that I'm in debt, but spending a few hundred £ a month on essentially nothing, when I could be investing in my future

I've had to live extremely frugally during this debt period - no Sky, no Virgin, no broadband - not even a BT phone line to save that extra few £ a month. I dont like the flat I'm in - it's a bit of a dump - but I know time at address is a big part of credit rating so I've sucked it up and stayed here

So, should I get the basics, like a landline phone just so it shows on my credit file as a bill that gets paid off faithfully on time? What else can I do to strengthen my credit rating? There are limits, since I'm on the DAS register, and one of the things in a DAS is you're not allowed to go into more debt, so loans, credit cards or anything like that are out - but I want to do whatever I can to get a head start for that day when I'm debt free and can start piling that money into saving for a mortgage deposit instead

Cheers in advance

Wayne_Laura

Bump - any ideas?

sourcrates

Difficult question to answer due to the limitations imposed on you by the DAS, suppose the best you can do is just make sure all bills are paid on time, no applications for credit etc, are you allowed a mobile contract ? they report on your credit file now, aside from that I don't know, sorry

Wayne_Laura

Thanks Sourcrates

Yeah, I've been diligent about making sure everything is paid on time

I dont want to go for a contract mobile, the only reason is that on GiffGaff (where I'm currently), for PAYG it's only £12 a month