FTB likelihood of acceptance in the future

ducksoup

Hi all

Wannabe FTB here interested in buying something a year down the line. Want to increase the likelihood of being accepted for a mortgage so would appreciate any advice.

Current situation:

Live with partner in rented housing association property. Have been here over 7 years.
No dependents.
Both work full time, time in current job 2 years, OH 10 years plus.
Total household income approx £34k, roughly £17k each pre tax.
I have £5k in ISA, OH has around £26k savings (would rather not use all of this as deposit).
Credit history.... OH is fine, has never used credit cards etc but had small loan which was paid off on time and ended a few months ago.
My credit history has been poor in the past. Two defaults dated 2010 so realise that it makes sense to wait until these drop of credit file before looking at lending. History since then is ok, was out of work at the time and all my other accounts have run smoothly.

In the next year, any tips on things I should be doing to increase likelihood of acceptance?

I intend to open a Help to Buy ISA in December and may run it for a year at £200 per month, OH doing the same.

At the moment I put around £200 into my Nationwide ISA, my OH does not save despite me telling her she should! She figures she has enough put away, but surely having spare cash each month shows we are living comfortably and not gonna struggle with repayments? Just looking for tips that will show we are a safe bet.

Also... bit of a stumbling block is the term of the mortgage. I am aged 33 and OH is 52, are they unlikely to offer us a long term due to her age?

Thanks for any advice.

kingstreet

Someone aged 52 now is going to get no more than 17 years if they apply today, unless they want to supply detailed evidence of income in retirement.

Historic adverse more than five years ago will be acceptable to some lenders and means finding something now with a year more on the term may be more sensible.

Obtain all three credit files and speak to broker now. Credit perfection by waiting until the defaults fall off may see you lose borrowing power.

ShakeItOff

I would pull off your credit reports and go through it to check everything looks in order. I did this and as much as anything, it was reassuring that I was up to date with most things but still needed to update my name after getting married with a couple of accounts I didn't use all that often.

Good luck!