affordability score!

evilwater

Dear people,
Ive just used the credit checker my affordable score is shockingly low.
In the very weak category.

I bet you saying pay all my debts, sounds great.
The only one I have is my mortgage, which is currently at 33,500.
I earn £18,000 and I am a single parent, working for the NHS. So.... asking for that pay rise is out of the question.
Oh, and my credit score is 999

Any one got any ideas?
Apart from winnning the lottery?

Many thanks,
Evil

jackieblack

Sorry, ideas for what? What is it you're needing to do that you aren't able to?

I'm in the same boat, my 'score' is 999 but my low pay puts me in the lowest category for affordability.
Luckily, I'm not in need of a loan so it doesn't bother me at all.
I've never had a problem getting a credit card, in fact I've just had my credit limit increased on two of them (not that I ever get close to it and balance is paid in full every month). My total credit limit on my CCs is approx 150% of my annual salary.

evilwater

I want to re-mortgage, before my deal is finished.
This affordable score, made things super difficult when getting a mortgage. Most lenders declined me because of this affordable score.
The stress was insane, and if it wasn't for my local bank manger, I'd have never got one.

I just need it to be a lot less stressful this time.

jackieblack

I earn alot less than you and effectively remortgaged when I transferred my mortgage into my sole name this time last year.
I had to agree to extend the term of the mortgage because the computer said I couldn't afford it otherwise. I agreed, knowing I could actually afford to pay more than the computer said I could (affordability calculations assume interest rates are higher than my current fixed rate) so am overpaying in order to repay in a timescale closer to the original term.

As I see it your options are:
- increase your income
- reduce your outgoings
- extend the term of your mortgage, reducing the monthly payment, making it more 'affordable'

Or some combination of these

Good luck!

[Deleted User]

evilwater wrote: »

I want to re-mortgage, before my deal is finished.
This affordable score, made things super difficult when getting a mortgage. Most lenders declined me because of this affordable score..

Your score didn't make anything super difficult. Your score is super irrelevant and should be super ignored.

No one declined you because of it.

cjmillsnun

evilwater wrote: »

I want to re-mortgage, before my deal is finished.
This affordable score, made things super difficult when getting a mortgage. Most lenders declined me because of this affordable score.
The stress was insane, and if it wasn't for my local bank manger, I'd have never got one.

I just need it to be a lot less stressful this time.

If you want it to be less stressful next time, look at staying with the same mortgage lender and changing the package to a new fix. You don't normally get credit checked for that.

But as zx81 said, not one declined you because of an experian score, an equifax score, a call credit score or anyone else's score.

The lenders have their own criteria.

System

You are failing the affordability test. It has nothing to do with your credit score but everything to do with your income and what lenders deem are average monthly outgoings for a family demographic like yours.

What lenders have to do is apply an affordability test which calculates mortgage repayments based on I believe around 5-6% mortgage interest rate, factor in any existing borrowing commitments you have, calculate your monthly living costs which include everything from food to clothing and entertainment and they put in a figure for that then they look at your income and see if the numbers add up. Each lender has its own set of figures they'll use In your case they've decided they don't add up.

The easiest way to remortgage would be with your existing lender as then they don't have to apply the mandatory affordability tests. Mine merely asks me over the phone if I'll be able to afford the repayments.

evilwater

Deleted_User wrote: »

Your score didn't make anything super difficult. Your score is super irrelevant and should be super ignored.

No one declined you because of it.

Dear zx81,
I'm sorry that I seem a troll. I know that I don't have a vast knowledge of mortgages. Which is why I'm asking here.
I was declined twice, Santander was the first and the second, Halifax.

[Deleted User]

evilwater wrote: »

Dear zx81,
I'm sorry that I seem a troll. I know that I don't have a vast knowledge of mortgages. Which is why I'm asking here.
I was declined twice, Santander was the first and the second, Halifax.

That's not because of any numbers or scores though, since they are made up.

What else is on your file? Defaults, CCJ's, late payments?

Also you may not have met the mortgage companies own criteria in terms of earning or credit checking.

evilwater

Gary,
The only things that are on my file are;
my ex,
My credit card, which I pay in full each month,
British gas for my electric and gas,
And my mobile phone provider.

No late payments.
No CCJ.
No defaults.

How can I find out about these bank criteria?

Superscrooge

evilwater wrote: »

Dear zx81,
I'm sorry that I seem a troll. I know that I don't have a vast knowledge of mortgages. Which is why I'm asking here.
I was declined twice, Santander was the first and the second, Halifax.

ZX81 hasn't suggested you are a troll, just pointed out how irrelevant your score is.

The fact you have a 999 score, which is the maximum, and you have been rejected twice confirms how irrelevant these scores are.