Time held bank account in mortgage application

The_Boss

Hi all,

I have a specific question about applying for a mortgage and length of time I've had my current account that I'd appreciate advice/opinions on please.

In June we will be applying for a mortgage. I was planning on switching to M&S bank to get the gift card that existing customers can get. This will mean I've held my bank account for 4 months at the time I apply for my mortgage.

At present, I use my Natwest bank account that I have held since 1996 and therefore doesn't appear on my credit files. I appreciate that I'll need to declare the length of time if I keep that on my application.

I have 3 credit cards, obtained in January 2012, March 2013 and September 2016, and a Vodafone account held since 2008 on my file. All with trivial monthly balances FWIW.

So will having a 4 month old bank account as opposed to one held for 23 years likely affect my chance of getting a mortgage or impact on the rate offered?

MortgageMamma

Keep both accounts running concurrently and then you can state your Natwest Account if needed.

I've never been asked this question before, to be honest I think its quite an intrusive question when I see it on a mortgage application and it bugs me as I don't believe its necessary - but I suppose lenders will be using that bit of information to gauge consumer habits

The only reason I can think a lender NEEDS that information if somebody had previous credit/income issues and had closed an account that evidences them constantly exceeding overdraft etc.

When you apply for a mortgage you are usually only asked for 1 or 3 months bank account statements now anyhow