Will my credit rating be affected by previous house owner's debts?

SonOfPearl

I've just bought a new house and have discovered that the previous owner had many debts, some of which were secured on the house.

I'm concerned that this may affect my credit rating in the future. Does anyone know if his debts will cause me problems in this way? Does this create a financial association between us?

Is there anything I can do to protect my credit rating from his bad debts? My solicitor for the purchase says that the secured debts have been paid off, but I have nothing in writing to confirm this. I know that repossession proceedings are at an advanced stage for at least one of his secured debts and I want to be sure that my house is secure.

If anyone can help me, it would be very much appreciated.

jonnyb

NO,NO,NO,NO,NO.

other people's credit information cannot affect you, for future credit applications, if you are not financially linked, which you are clearly not in this case.

if the previous owner has sold the house then the creditors should be chasing him for the money he got from the sale, not for the house which you own now.

SonOfPearl

Thank you. I'm not sure what exactly constitutes a financial association for credit purposes. I thought that if we shared the same address then it could cause me problems.

KTF

The previous owner of my place has all sorts of bad debts and everything was on a prepayment meter.

This had zero effect on my score and as soon as I moved in they changed it back to 'normal' gas and electric meters after a quick credit check.

CLAPTON

although credit record/ratings apply to people rather then addresses, it is best to get copies of your reports from the three credit agencies to check there are no links to this person.

exel1966

CLAPTON wrote: »

although credit record/ratings apply to people rather then addresses, it is best to get copies of your reports from the three credit agencies to check there are no links to this person.

and if you do find any links write back to the CRA's making it clear that you have NO financial association with the previous owner. They are obliged to enter this onto your credit report.

A financial association would be two persons paying a mortgage on a property, a married couple etc