How important is being on the electoral roll for a long time when applying for a mortgage?

pjs493

I have an excellent credit score, but when I check my score using the tool provided by my bank, the only negative thing on my credit rating is that I haven't been living at my current address very long. 

My husband died last year while serving in the Armed Forces. We moved frequently while he was alive due to his job, in some cases we were only in a particular place for a few months, the longest we were in the same place was a couple of years. Because of that, and the impact it had on our credit scores, we kept our permanent address as his parents' house.

I'd been on the electoral roll at my in-laws house for many years which was having a positive impact on my credit score. When my husband died, my in-laws asked me to change the addresses for everything we had registered at their house, so I did and I also registered to vote at the address of our military accommodation. After doing that, my credit score dropped (but remains excellent) and the tool currently has me listed as not being registered to vote anywhere (because the change has not made its way through to my credit record yet). I'm likely to move again at short notice into more military accommodation closer to my family before buying a house next year (the property I currently own is rented out, and will be sold as soon as possible because it isn't big enough for me and the children).

I'll have quite a large deposit and will be looking for a fairly small mortgage. I recently applied for an agreement in principle with my bank to gauge what I could borrow and was surprised at how little they were willing to lend me given my credit history, income, and size of my deposit.

Does the fact that I'll only be registered on the electoral roll for a short time (perhaps only a few months) impact my ability to get the best mortgage deal? I can't see my score returning to what it was before I changed where I was registered to vote from my in-laws house between now and when I need a mortgage.

dougson

It has some impact, but from the general overview you have given I think you'll still have a large range of options, good LTV goes a long way and if you have a steady income and relatively little credit card debt you should be in great shape for it 

ACG

Some lenders will make a bigger issue of this than others. 
Also what address are you planning on putting down? Where you have lived or the in laws (for previous address)? 

None of it should be a deal breaker, but you could find this flies through or you may need to provide extra ID, explanation etc. 

Brie

The score itself is immaterial. What is important is all the other bumpf on your credit history.  Good use of credit. Little excess credit available.  Then explain to them why your address has changed for electoral purposes.  Your not the first army widow to be in this situation.

Sorry for your loss, always difficult no matter the circumstances.

pjs493

ACG said:

Some lenders will make a bigger issue of this than others. 
Also what address are you planning on putting down? Where you have lived or the in laws (for previous address)? 

None of it should be a deal breaker, but you could find this flies through or you may need to provide extra ID, explanation etc. 

I hadn’t really thought. I’ll likely use my in-laws, then this, then wherever I end up in the interim near my family if I have to provide my history for the last five years (or however long). Before my husband died, the only things that we’d have at our military address would be car related stuff and home contents insurance for obvious reasons. So banks, electoral roll, etc were all at my in-laws. 

pjs493

As a couple of people have mentioned it: I don’t have any rolling credit card debt. I only use my credit card for the rewards and pay off the balance every month. 

I own my cars outright and there is no mortgage on my rental property which I will sell once the current tenancy is up next year and use the money towards the deposit for my next property. 

I’m looking at having a deposit of around 85-90% with a mortgage of 10-15% of the property value. It may even be that I don’t need a mortgage. It all depends on what’s available at the time I’m in a position to buy, how the market is, and if what I decide to buy needs a new kitchen or other updates. I also don’t want to completely clear out my savings. So I’d rather have a small mortgage than go all in. 

dougson

pjs493 said:

As a couple of people have mentioned it: I don’t have any rolling credit card debt. I only use my credit card for the rewards and pay off the balance every month. 

I own my cars outright and there is no mortgage on my rental property which I will sell once the current tenancy is up next year and use the money towards the deposit for my next property. 

I’m looking at having a deposit of around 85-90% with a mortgage of 10-15% of the property value. It may even be that I don’t need a mortgage. It all depends on what’s available at the time I’m in a position to buy, how the market is, and if what I decide to buy needs a new kitchen or other updates. I also don’t want to completely clear out my savings. So I’d rather have a small mortgage than go all in. 

Strongly suspect you will be fine.

Although several years ago now, when I applied for my mortgage I was looking to borrow c. 60% single income, no dependents, had lived overseas for years, but used my mum's address for correspondence (Bank statements, tax etc) for many years.

She had taken me off the electoral roll (without my knowledge) and I still got a mortgage, with NatWest, and since remortgaged with Halifax with no problems. Electoral Roll in isolation shouldn't make much difference in my experience.