FTB, using Help to Buy Equity Loan but also with a discharged bankruptcy. Advice needed!

gimmagemma

Sorry. Long post.

I was made bankrupt in 2019, discharged in September 2020, so not quite 2 years. 3 CCJs which are unsatisfied, but were included in the bankruptcy are still showing on my file. Since the bankruptcy, I have had no further issues. I have two credit cards which I am using to build my credit and pay off each month.

My partner has 2 defaults that were registered in Oct 2021 for around £4,000 each. These were never not paid. They were included in a payment plan we arranged through Step Change (Covid payment plan) which runs for 12 months and then reverts to normal payments. NatWest decided to register defaults though. 

We have spoken to a broker (large company, specialising in adverse credit)  and received a DIP, however, the rates are ridiculous and quite honestly, we feel as if the broker has just done minimal to even look into things for us. 

Are there other options available to us? Am I being overly optimistic given the circumstances, and should I just be grateful we even have a DIP?

We aren’t feeling too optimistic with the broker. He doesn’t seem to know what he is doing and only put the DIP through after I had to remind him 5 days later. 

Any advice/guidance would be appreciated.

K_S

@gimmagemma If you don't mind, could you tell me what the ballpark rate is? It might well be 'ridiculous' compared to mainstream rates but that doesn't automatically mean that it isn't the best rate available for your circumstances.

If you are unhappy with the broker, you should consider getting a second opinion from another specialist broker. If they come back with similar rates then you know where you stand and if it's significantly better, you can go with them.

gimmagemma

Thank you for your quick response.

The rate is 8.27%, with a product fee of around £4,000. The lender is Bluestone, and whilst I knew their rates are high, the 1% loading was never explained.

I have done a lot of research on everything before approaching a broker. Since contacting him, we have spoken three times. Once to go over the basics, once to do the fact find and then again after I emailed him to ask if there was any progress with the DIP. He hadn’t even applied for it, and hadn’t copied notes down correctly so believed he was waiting on us for something? 

After speaking with him, we had the DIP in 40 mins so I just don’t feel like he has been very proactive with looking in to any options that may be available. 

Obviously we didn’t go in to this thinking we would be getting fantastic rates. We know this is not an ideal situation. We just want to be sure that if we are spending a large amount of money for a service, we are getting the best service available. 

K_S

@gimmagemma You are absolutely right to make sure you are indeed getting the best rate for your circumstances and your broker should perhaps be taking a bit more effort to explain why he's recommended this product and address any concerns you have. Apologies if my post came across any other way.

There are a few small building societies who will consider (subject to meeting other criteria including LTV caps) recently discharged BRs on their adverse range with lower rates+fees than Bluestone but off of the top of my head I don't know if these include HTB products.

chanz4

doesnt htb loan have to have clean credit @kingstreet

K_S

chanz4 said:

doesnt htb loan have to have clean credit @kingstreet

@chanz4 There's no such requirement that I'm aware of for the 2021-23 scheme. Plenty of specialist adverse lenders offer H2B products.

kingstreet

chanz4 said:

doesnt htb loan have to have clean credit @kingstreet

Nope. As before, HTB qualification is very much based on being able to obtain the mortgage.

Worth bearing in mind the mortgage rate has to be entered in the HTB affordability calculator if it is, or will be, over 4.8%.