Stoozing vs remortgaging

phillw

Spir4 said:
So you think if stoozing until you have to remortgage, then pay off the credit card debt in full, and then start looking for a new mortgage, you'll end up with the same deals as someone who didn't stooze?

I did that and never had an issue. They asked me how much debt I was going to have, I put £0 and paid it all off. I never had a stooze going when starting a new mortgage product, but you probably can if you have enough money.

Spir4

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I think the information in the following link might make things a bit clearer - it was updated by Martin Lewis on 11 October.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/stooze-cash-credit-cards/

It contains the following warning -

"Stoozing is ONLY for those who are debt-free & financially savvy. If you're not, avoid it as mistakes can be costly. Stoozing means you'll have a credit card debt, so if you have a mortgage application or important credit application coming up, it might be best to steer clear – as it could affect your lender's affordability checks. If you're looking for more than just 0% spending, or you've debts, see our Credit Cards page for full options."

Hope that's helpful. 

I read that whole article before I posted this. It's because it's quite vague about "coming up" I started asking questions. With "coming up" I'd say within 2 of 3 months or so.

Nebulous2

I've posted this before, but I can't find it so a quick summary. 

Pre-pandemic I stoozed over £30k, just to see if I could. I'd no expectation of needing credit. Then I decided I was going to buy a second house (holiday home/eventual retirement home) and needed a mortgage. I went to a Nationwide branch, the member of staff sat me down, ran the figures and told me that I needed to take my debt under £10k to get the mortgage I wanted. He also told me that I should make sure the lower level was showing on my credit report before applying. If I applied declaring one level of credit card debt and my report showed more it would be an automatic rejection and I'd have to appeal. 

I paid off all but £10k, waited two months and then applied. Process went without a hitch. 

My experience in the past has been that moving to a new product with the same lender at the end of a fix was very straightforward. Phone up, get the options, say what you want and get it. Again that was historic and might have changed, but they didn't always do a search. 

Spir4

Nebulous2 said:

I've posted this before, but I can't find it so a quick summary. 

Pre-pandemic I stoozed over £30k, just to see if I could. I'd no expectation of needing credit. Then I decided I was going to buy a second house (holiday home/eventual retirement home) and needed a mortgage. I went to a Nationwide branch, the member of staff sat me down, ran the figures and told me that I needed to take my debt under £10k to get the mortgage I wanted. He also told me that I should make sure the lower level was showing on my credit report before applying. If I applied declaring one level of credit card debt and my report showed more it would be an automatic rejection and I'd have to appeal. 

I paid off all but £10k, waited two months and then applied. Process went without a hitch. 

My experience in the past has been that moving to a new product with the same lender at the end of a fix was very straightforward. Phone up, get the options, say what you want and get it. Again that was historic and might have changed, but they didn't always do a search. 

Nice one thanks! So in your case 2 months was enough to get your debt updated on your credit file. So if, to be safe, one would stop stoozing and pay off all the debt 6 months before applying for a new mortgage there should be no debt on your credit file?

[Deleted User]

Spir4 said:

Nebulous2 said:

I've posted this before, but I can't find it so a quick summary. 

Pre-pandemic I stoozed over £30k, just to see if I could. I'd no expectation of needing credit. Then I decided I was going to buy a second house (holiday home/eventual retirement home) and needed a mortgage. I went to a Nationwide branch, the member of staff sat me down, ran the figures and told me that I needed to take my debt under £10k to get the mortgage I wanted. He also told me that I should make sure the lower level was showing on my credit report before applying. If I applied declaring one level of credit card debt and my report showed more it would be an automatic rejection and I'd have to appeal. 

I paid off all but £10k, waited two months and then applied. Process went without a hitch. 

My experience in the past has been that moving to a new product with the same lender at the end of a fix was very straightforward. Phone up, get the options, say what you want and get it. Again that was historic and might have changed, but they didn't always do a search. 

Nice one thanks! So in your case 2 months was enough to get your debt updated on your credit file. So if, to be safe, one would stop stoozing and pay off all the debt 6 months before applying for a new mortgage there should be no debt on your credit file?

The credit files that lenders see are updated in real time, the free ones you can access usually lag a bit, maybe a week or month. Leaving it 6 months is more than enough

Spir4

And it doesn't matter that you had a massive debt from the stoozing 6 months ago? They won't be able to see it, or they won't care because it's been paid off?

Sorry for the questions, I just want to be 100% sure before I start doing it.

[Deleted User]

They would see a report showing you had a debt that was repaid and (presumably) a card being paid off every month, lots of people clear debts, it's the amount of debt that is the issue though you might need to explain the change of course

Spir4

Deleted_User said:

They would see a report showing you had a debt that was repaid and (presumably) a card being paid off every month, lots of people clear debts, it's the amount of debt that is the issue though you might need to explain the change of course

A lot of mortgage applications happen online though, where you wouldn't have the opportunity to explain stuff. They just wouldn't give you the top rate mortgage. Wouldn't that be an issue?

[Deleted User]

Spir4 said:

Deleted_User said:

They would see a report showing you had a debt that was repaid and (presumably) a card being paid off every month, lots of people clear debts, it's the amount of debt that is the issue though you might need to explain the change of course

A lot of mortgage applications happen online though, where you wouldn't have the opportunity to explain stuff. They just wouldn't give you the top rate mortgage. Wouldn't that be an issue?

You would need to ask a broker

Spir4

Thanks alright I'll give it a go :-)