Morgage Application with Gambling Transactions

RJD1993

Hi

I was looking a bit of advice regarding a morgage appointment on the 5th of January. 

First a bit of a backround, 

-Im going via the Co-Ownership scheme (shared ownership in England)

-Offer accepted on a property at £92000

-Have my morgage offer from Co-Own, surveyors etc all done

-Been pre approved with Ulster Bank for up to £59000 for my part of the morgage

The actual morgage appointment is on the 5th, where my statements and payslips will go to the underwriters etc. The problem is, my christmas shopping is done in these statements, and I also had covid and foolishly was gambling on the football out of boredom one week. 

The gambling transactions adds up to about £70 over a 3 month period. I earn 1200 a month, so this obviously doesnt seem like much but im worried the underwriters will think I am not sensible with my money as there was periods in the statements where I only had £100 in my account due to my christmas shopping being done etc so gambling doesnt look good.

Some more information-

Have £1000 in my savings account which was there during the period of these 3 bank statements. 

No credit card balances, no loans, no overdraft. No debt

I was paying a solicitor fees for a year but paid it off in full. 

Credit report shows I have never missed a payment in my life. Score is 999 with one provider and 'good' with another provider.

Could the gambling get my application declined? If so could I show more than 3 months statements to prove I dont bet that much usually? 

Also, do they take into consideration christmas shopping or will this be looked at as spending habit? 

All advice welcome 😊

MWT

As long as the gambling was contained within your disposable income then it shouldn't be a problem.

£70 over three months with no use of overdraft doesn't feel like it should come close to being a concern.

[Deleted User]

I feel the worst case scenario they will take a commitment of £23/m to account for this.  Realistically though i cant see them caring. 

When brokers talk about gambling they are mainly worrying about:

Gambling using borrowed money (overdrafts)
Gambling at levels that would be hard to stop
And gambling at a frequency that indicates an addiction (so even if small amounts, multiple bets a day for months on end would indicate a potential problem

Hobby gambling is rarely an issue

ACG

I have no experience of Ulster so I am not sure if they take the same stance as RBS/Natwest or not, but most lenders wont be interested in gambling for 1 week out of 13. To be fair, even if you banged £100 on every saturday they would usually not be interested. It only really becomes a problem if:
1) It is unpredictable - ie every saturday shows you put money on each weekend. It is not a sign of an addiction, it is no different to going to the pub every weekend. If they can see £1, £1, £1, £1, £1, £1 every other day that would be worse as it looks like you put money in and chase it. 
2) It is spare money - if you are not going overdrawn for example. 

GMac14

I’ve recently got a Mortgage offer from Barclays and I had £51 spent on Sky Bet in Nov and £20 to Skybet in Oct, both of which will have been seen on bank statements.