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Wait between applying for lower interest rate
OK, I'll try to cut a long story short.
Went bankrupt a few years back, the 6 years has just passed so bankruptcy has dropped off the record (very recently).
I'd been using credit cards responsibly but a decent contract I was working on was cancelled and I ended up going back to a normal full time job, obviously with lower pay. I was left in a situation where I couldn't clear the credit cards off monthly as I was when I was contracting so I've been making sure that a little over the minimum payment was covered, just waiting for my bankruptcy to drop off my credit reports.
Finally, they vanished, my credit score went up a little (although, still poor) and I applied for a P2P loan to consolidate about 9k of debt. It's saving me money each month with this new payment, which is nice.
I'll obviously keep on top of these loan payments, and I'm keeping one small credit card just to use for fuel purchases so it keeps ticking over each month in an effort to help my credit rating.
My question is about how long I'm likely to have to wait to be able to get this interest rate down (20% APR IIRC).. I don't want to re-apply too soon and cause further issues with my credit rating. How long roughly (taking into account I'll be a model citizen with regards to paying bills and repayments) should I plan on waiting before trying to either re-finance or applying elsewhere to attempt a lower interest rate? I understand circumstances vary so I'm just looking for the roughest of rough ideas.
Did I say long story short? I meant to say hardback novel.
Went bankrupt a few years back, the 6 years has just passed so bankruptcy has dropped off the record (very recently).
I'd been using credit cards responsibly but a decent contract I was working on was cancelled and I ended up going back to a normal full time job, obviously with lower pay. I was left in a situation where I couldn't clear the credit cards off monthly as I was when I was contracting so I've been making sure that a little over the minimum payment was covered, just waiting for my bankruptcy to drop off my credit reports.
Finally, they vanished, my credit score went up a little (although, still poor) and I applied for a P2P loan to consolidate about 9k of debt. It's saving me money each month with this new payment, which is nice.
I'll obviously keep on top of these loan payments, and I'm keeping one small credit card just to use for fuel purchases so it keeps ticking over each month in an effort to help my credit rating.
My question is about how long I'm likely to have to wait to be able to get this interest rate down (20% APR IIRC).. I don't want to re-apply too soon and cause further issues with my credit rating. How long roughly (taking into account I'll be a model citizen with regards to paying bills and repayments) should I plan on waiting before trying to either re-finance or applying elsewhere to attempt a lower interest rate? I understand circumstances vary so I'm just looking for the roughest of rough ideas.
Did I say long story short? I meant to say hardback novel.
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Comments
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A search every two or three months wouldn't cause lenders much concern.
But the main issue will be your debt to income ratio, and then asking for the same amount of borrowing again.
Don't use your credit score or rating as any kind of measure though, either for good or bad.0 -
When you do want to try again, make sure you use the eligibility checker first:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/eligibility/loans-calculator/I'm a Board Guide on the Credit Cards, Loans, Credit Files & Ratings boards. I'm a volunteer to help the boards run smoothly, and I can move and merge threads there. Any views are mine and not the official line of moneysavingexpert.com0
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