1st time appying, credit score - any chance?

RunMaxRun

Hello, thanks in advance for any advice / reality check!

We're 1st time buyers, we had no expectation of being able to buy until we recently inherited £20k for a deposit - and we're adding £10k of our own savings.

We've seen a house that we like, and the vendors are likely to accept £93k.
A Countrywide broker (not connected to the EA selling the property) said my husband can apply on his £19k salary (I'm self-employed on £8k).

Have just checked our credit scores on Equifax, mine is 60l (between good and fair), but my husband's is 341 (between poor and very poor).

• He has a Lloyds current acc that is rarely used. He went OD by around £30 last year, and they charged £80, putting him further OD. He cleared the £30 and they agreed to remove the £80 charge til he had sufficient funds to pay it. He forgot, we moved house, and he didn't update his address, so the payment is now 6 mths late.
• Between Apr-Jul last year he was 4 payments late on another current acc
• In 2011 he was 3 payments late on his O2 phone bill
• We've only been in our (rental) property 9 mths, we're on the electoral roll but it's not showing in the report yet

These are the only issues I can see on Equifax report.
Have we any chance of being accepted?
(And as a side note, is a Countrywide broker the way to go?)

csgohan4

Have you checked the other credit file agencies?

Your husband's credit history doesn't look good, but you need a broker good with adverse history.

Any debt/ loans?

[Deleted User]

Agree, check Experian and CallCredit (Noddle) as well. Ignore the score, nobody sees it but you. Focus on the history- this is what a lender will use to decide if they want to loan you a large sum of money. If there are lots of late or missed payments then this obviously doesn't demonstrate you as a particular good bet.

That said, late payments might not be too much of an issue depending on when they were and whether or not they resulted in defaults. If they did, then you may have to go to a specialist broker who deals in sub-prime mortgages. This is what we are having to do due to my credit history, and the mortgage we've been offered is roughly 2.5x the interest rate of mortgages on the high street as a result.

But before you go and see anyone, get all three copies of your reports and check them for anomalies and get them in order. I wish I'd done this a good year before started looking at places and applying for things.

RunMaxRun

Thanks both for replies.


csgohan4 - I have also checked Noddle (free version) - it doesn't show the same level of detail but a similar outlook.
We have no debt or other loans, have never had credit cards, the 4 issues I've mentioned are the only ones.


Equifax says my husband's Repayment Conduct Assessment is 'good' - does that mean much? I have been thrown by the bad score!

Pixie5740

RunMaxRun wrote: »

Equifax says my husband's Repayment Conduct Assessment is 'good' - does that mean much? I have been thrown by the bad score!

Since Equifax don't lend money it means Sweet Fanny Adams.

The scores are meaningless, what is important is the credit history. Get all 6 credit reports (3 each) and sit down with a broker.

Playing_with_Fire_2

For the most recent late payments, try calling the banks and explaining what happened, that you are very sorry and asking if they would consider removing the late payment notices. It's not highly likely to work, but it could do. I've had this work when I offered to set up a direct debit on a credit card and when I agreed for them to reduce the overdraft limit.

In the meantime, work on your current account to show that you are saving money, being sensible and don't have expensive gambling/shopping/other habits. They will expect to see a few months of sensible behaviour.

alchemist.1

RunMaxRun wrote: »

Thanks both for replies.


csgohan4 - I have also checked Noddle (free version) - it doesn't show the same level of detail but a similar outlook.
We have no debt or other loans, have never had credit cards, the 4 issues I've mentioned are the only ones.


Equifax says my husband's Repayment Conduct Assessment is 'good' - does that mean much? I have been thrown by the bad score!

Forget the Equifax/ Experian/Noddle(CallCredit) assessment of your credit history.

Start by checking each report for late payment markers/ Defaults /CCJs/ Open credit/store cards which you have forgotten about.

Countrywide don't have a great reputation. This probably requires someone a bit more specialist.

RunMaxRun

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated.
Will go through all reports with a tooth comb and shop around for a suitable broker.


I will def get my husband to try your suggestion too, Playing with Fire - it can't hurt!