Mortgage - poor credit/good salary - is there any hope?

EllieCat_2

Hi all,
I've just checked my credit rating on Noddle and as I expected it's pretty poor, which I'm gutted about. I've had many addresses over the last 10 years and got into some real financial messes. I'm working my way out of it now though and living within my means on a decent salary (38k)

Do I stand any chance of getting a mortgage of £105k? (plus 12k deposit which I have) I was offered one in principle last week of up to £160k but that was before I check my credit score.
Also, a contact at Natwest said if there was anything "too horrendous" on my file, I'd have been rejected outright... I'm so confused. Can anyone shed any light?

~Beanie~

What exactly do you mean by 'poor credit'? Do you have any CCJ's/defaults/late payments showing on your credit file?

EllieCat_2

Well, it was Noddle I used and I couldn't actually find what specifically was on there, although I'm quite sure most of it relates to utilities. I think you had to pay to access the specifics. The score was 540.
I'm feeling like it's quite unlikely I will be accepted but is there any possibility they will acknowledge I've never one missed payments on things such as rent, phone, loan car finance?

Thrugelmir

You need to deal with any legacy issues first. What's left to be resolved?

ACG

Forget the score, its worthless.
It comes down to the details, ie arrears, late payments, default, CCJs, how much for, what for and when. You can drill down in the free noddle report but I would suggest you get all 3 (equifax, experian and noddle) infront of a broker.

Income does not overcome a bad credit history, time and deposit are the 2 biggest influences. That all being said, with a 15% deposit and a year or 2 clear and you can overcome a lot. You could potentially get away with less time and/or a smaller deposit but it comes down to the details.

EllieCat_2

Sorry, what do you mean by legacy issues? Apologies!

EllieCat_2

ACG, thanks very much for the advice. Lots to consider there.

mildredalien

You can see the detail on noddle without paying - you just need to view your report and go into the financial account information section. It will show any open and closed accounts (info for the past 6 years) and whether they are settled/satisfied or not. You can click the little + icon next to each one and look at past years. Missed or late payments will show up as well as defaulted debts.

You can also do similar on experian/equifax and probably should do, to make sure that you are fully aware of everything that will show up to lenders on your account - and to make sure there are no nasty surprises for you either!

kirtsypoos

Also EllieCat, I wouldn't worry too much - Noddle seems to be a strange one - it listed me as very poor, and my partner as poor - granted, I have debts but no defaults, late payments etc and my partner has no debt or previous poor history - we couldn't see a reason on noddle for our ratings to be low.
Got both equifax and experian reports which were both fine, and got our mortgage offer last September.
It all depends on the reason for the problems, but don't worry too much until you have seen a broker - mine was a godsend and worth every penny just for the peace of mind!

If you do go to a broker who charges, make sure it's a payment on completion - a friend got caught out recently by paying a broker in advance who later told her that she wouldn't be able to get a mortgage!