Am i classed as a first time buyer and will I have to mention I was bankrupt 12 years ago?

sheffield_soldier

Hi,
Financially me and my wife are in a decent position and both of our credit reports are all showing as excellent. 
We are looking to get a mortgage towards the end of this year but I do come with some baggage. I bought an house with an ex partner many years ago and I I actually finished up bankrupt. The bankruptcy was about 12 years ago, I was discharged in six months and it is well and truly off my record now. 

• When I am applying for a mortgage and if they ask if I have been bankrupt, do I have to declare it? Should it?

• Would me and my wife be classed as first time buyers ( I lost my previous house when I went bankrupt)

Thank you.

chasingfreedom

sheffield_soldier said:

Hi,
Financially me and my wife are in a decent position and both of our credit reports are all showing as excellent. 
We are looking to get a mortgage towards the end of this year but I do come with some baggage. I bought an house with an ex partner many years ago and I I actually finished up bankrupt. The bankruptcy was about 12 years ago, I was discharged in six months and it is well and truly off my record now. 

• When I am applying for a mortgage and if they ask if I have been bankrupt, do I have to declare it? Should it?

• Would me and my wife be classed as first time buyers ( I lost my previous house when I went bankrupt)

Thank you.

Hi, yes you will have to declare it. They will ask if you have EVER been bankrupt, its not worth lying because the solicitors do a bankruptcy check at the end of the process and it will potentially get picked up there. There are a couple of lenders who won't consider a bankrupt regardless of the timescale but majority of lenders don't mind if its more than 6 years discharged. You are not classed as a first time buyer because you previously owned a property, you will be classed as a home mover. If your wife has NEVER owned a property before she will be classed as a first time buyer and you may be able to still access some first time buyer deals even though you owned a property.

MWT

... but from a stamp duty perspective if you are buying in joint names then your wife will not be treated as a first time buyer as you are married.

grumiofoundation

In terms of SDLT you are not first time buyers.

You would not be able to use schemes designed for FTBs (e.g. HTB equity loan scheme).

If you mean regarding mortgage products offered by lenders I believe they have different criteria (also believe it generally makes little difference).

You would certainly have to declare previous bankruptcy if asked. 

sheffield_soldier

Do you think it would be best to try my bank (First Direct) as they know my accounts better than another lender. Or would you go through a broker?

K_S

sheffield_soldier said:

Hi,
Financially me and my wife are in a decent position and both of our credit reports are all showing as excellent. 
We are looking to get a mortgage towards the end of this year but I do come with some baggage. I bought an house with an ex partner many years ago and I I actually finished up bankrupt. The bankruptcy was about 12 years ago, I was discharged in six months and it is well and truly off my record now. 

• When I am applying for a mortgage and if they ask if I have been bankrupt, do I have to declare it? Should it?

• Would me and my wife be classed as first time buyers ( I lost my previous house when I went bankrupt)

Thank you.

@sheffield_soldier

- Some lenders will ask if you have 'ever' been bankrupt or had a property repo'd, in which case yes you have to declare it

- Some will only ask if you have been BR/repo in the last 6 years

- To be clear, just because a lender asks if you have ever been BR/repo does not mean that they will decline your application. Only a minority of lenders have a blanket refusal for applicants who have BR/repo in their history, however long ago it was.