what credit rating is needed for a mortgage?

ktcoil

Hi me and my partner have decided to save for a mortgage for a house as we understand the money we are paying in rent is dead money, in the past i got quite a bit of debt with a higher purchase loan on a car and a few credit cards i maxed out, this is all payed off in the last few years, last one was payed off 1 1/2 year ago, i believe my credit rating during that time would have dropped very low as i had the odd missed payment which icouldnt afford etc as at the time of paying all these i lived in a flat on my on and had rent and bills etc, hopefully my credit rating is slowing building back up as i seem to be getting back on track with no bank charges or anything since them ones, i also was offered a credit card from mybank which at first i didnt want to accept but then was told this would help if i took this out and only used it for 1 purchace per month and payed it off straight away? can someone tell me what credit rating they look for when taking out a mortgage, i am 29, 30 in july, my partner has no bad credit, they have had a higher purchace loan on a car in the past but they payed it off on time and no missed payments, there car is now theres and no loans, also is there any good tips on how i can build my credit rating back up, i am now trying to save for mortgage in my bank saving account so hopefully that will help.

thanks:)

amnblog

It does not work like that - no one has a definitive 'credit rating', each lender will assess your credit file in it's own way.


Pay all credit you have in full, and one time, and engage a mortgage broker when you are ready to proceed.


That is the best you can do.

kingstreet

The more deposit you have, the more "accepting" you will find lenders to be...

Madbags

If it helps, my credit rating is absolutely terrible. Discharged from a Debt Relief Order in August 2013 and we got accepted for a mortgage in December. My partner doesn't even have a credit rating at all, she didn't even exist on a Credit Reference Agency until we got our joint bank account.


So ultimately the answer is no, it does not matter.

AnnieBox

Your position sounds very similar to what ours was. I had some poor credit history (although never any defaults or anything like that) from credit cards and a catalogue. My partner however has has never put a foot wrong anywhere so he's looks a lot better.

In 2013 we knuckled down pretty hard core on our money and cleared our remaining debts in that year. We spent 2014 saving and after some gifted deposit from my father in law we started looking for houses and we got accepted for a DIP in November 2014. We have now also done a full application which was accepted and all finalised today.

In our circumstances, I found our Broker to be invaluable throughout the whole process and I am so glad I did it that way. A good broker will know their lenders inside out and will know who you will and won’t stand a chance with, they are the best people to place you to the correct mortgage company for your circumstances. There was one company that came up with the best rate and cheapest repayments, but my broker said their credit checks are relentless and they like their applicants to be pristine so we didn't stand a chance. She wasn’t willing to put any marks on our credit file unless she was confident in our acceptance.

It is absolutely doable, you may not get the best rates or the juiciest deals but I’m sure you will be able to get something, just as we have.