Mortgage application advice: credit card/ gambling

Croomes

Hi all,
Just after some very quick advice if that's ok. I'm currently in the process of buying a New Build apartment on my own. Passed the credit check, got a Mortgage agreed in principal etc. all good!

Next week i see the mortgage adviser...now i currently have a Credit Card that i have used to gamble with recently. Not too heavy, just for fun with mates and i easily pay it off.

My parents are going to clear the account for me so it doesn't become an issue. My 1st question is..... Will they ask to see my statements if the account is now closed? (Ive been making monthly payments to the credit card, so i thought they might ask). They have asked me for statements of all Credit Cards used for General Spending, but im praying it doesnt apply to closed accounts.

2nd question, is gambling an issue on statements. Im a single guy, i do it for fun. In the last 3 months on my Current Account statements i have bet £275 but won £350.

Any advise would be amazing guys.

Alnilam81

You should just be honest about everything. You don't need to tell them what you spend money on, but I'd be surprised if the even asked, all they'll really care about is that you have enough coming in to cover the outgoings. If you've not been missing payments and your not overloaded you should be fine.

One thing to be aware of is that they'll use your credit report. A closed account will still show on that, and it probably won't be updated and show as closed for at least a month if not longer.

It's always sensible to have a look at you credit report before applying to check for any potential issues before they can blow up. Numerous site offer free trials, so there's no reason not to.

Croomes

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I've noticed this with my credit report. At the moment it says i have a Credit Card open with an incorrect balance. I could possibly wait until the account is showing as closed on my credit report before proceeding?

Alnilam81

It depends how much of a hurry you're in, credit reports are updated once a month, but it could take longer than that to actually show.

Again just be honest and they do listen to you, just explain you have a card but have just paid it off. I wouldn't bring up gambling unless specifically asked anything, but I doubt you will be.

looknohands

I had gambling transactions on my current account and had a mortgage offer accepted pretty quickly, no issues.

I don't think you need to declare these. At no point in any documentation I received did I read 'please declare any gambling transactions' if I had I would of, so I don't think it's something you need to 'be honest about' and at no point did my broker ask me about these. If they were that important I'm sure they would have right?

They're obviously there if they want to fine comb my statements, but at the same time the transactions were maybe £10 a month at most. I spend more on haircuts....

nrps1

So I have been doing matched betting for the last 3 to 4 months, and have been gambling thousands a month as a result with many bookies (matched betting is a scheme where you guarantee profit but can bet a great deal to get small profits back). I'm concerned this will look bad, however I've always been significantly in the black and have an almost faultless credit rating so hoping that is taken into account?... My AIP has been accepted no issues so far.

Monkey2801

@nrps1 would love to hear how it goes for you! Me and my partner are doing the same thing. We save the max into 2 HTB ISA's and then whatever else we can spare a month (about £100 each) is going on matched betting as you make way more money than putting it into a savings account!

Looking to apply soon though so please keep updated on if it makes a difference in your mortgage process!

Good luck!

David_White

nrps1 wrote: »

So I have been doing matched betting for the last 3 to 4 months, and have been gambling thousands a month as a result with many bookies (matched betting is a scheme where you guarantee profit but can bet a great deal to get small profits back). I'm concerned this will look bad, however I've always been significantly in the black and have an almost faultless credit rating so hoping that is taken into account?... My AIP has been accepted no issues so far.

No lender is going to like this, so depending on exactly how you're carrying out the transactions and which lender you go to it could be a big issue.

One thing that is important to note for yourself and the OP is that no lender is going to be interested in how much you're winning when it comes to gambling, that will not be considered in any way.

Croomes

Just in case anyone in the future wants to know the outcome of this i had zero issues with gambling on my statements.

I had a lot on my statements and they didnt ask once about them.

Also my Credit Card statements weren't checked.

nrps1

Just to let you know, with all my matched betting I was accepted for an AIP from Santander and Halifax, then given an offer with Virgin (after seeing statements) and in the end have exchanged with Nationwide (no statements needed).

Happy times and relief!

sleepyjones

A bit off topic and I'm not 100% sure on this but gambling on a Credit Card counts as a cash withdrawal, so you'll be getting charged the cash withdrawal fee + the interest? (+ it might look bad on your credit report if you're seen to be drawing cash on a credit card?)