Mortgage advice

[Stephanie.k]

Hi, we completed out IVA in March 2020 and have received our completion certificate. We have been removed from the IVA register and also there is no record on Experian with a score of 999 for myself and my husband. He has credit (phones etc...) However I have one negative for having no credit.
We are looking to remortgage £139000 on a house valued at £210000 as our fixed term finished next year. Ideally looking to take out a mortgage if £159000. We have done agreement in principle with high street lenders but keep up getting declined. Should we wait a bit longer build up credit, or is there something else we need to do? Thank you in advance

[abbiesmum2003]

Good afternoon.
Ismd be surprised if your score really is 999 this soon im afraid. Its taken us almost 2 years to build up, and i recall someone saying 999 is a default figure.
Have a look on Totally Money and Credit Karma. These are free credit check sites and show areas where you are doing well and areas for improvement.
Once youve double checked your credit history try a mortgage broker rather than actual banks.
Applying for too many close together will have a negative impact.
We have just moved into a nee home with a high street mortgage (completed oct 2018). It takes time to repair the damage.
We used The Select Partnership to help us get a mortgage but we had spent 12
months repairing credit history.
Dont rely on that 999 from experian. Have a look at the others which are more detailed and helpful. Dont apply for anything else just yet.
Best of luck-there will be a solution.

[Foggy]

999 is a default -- 'we don't know what to give you' score and, like other scores, is pretty much meaningless as lenders do not see a numerical score, but base their offers or rejections on actual history. Part of that history will be any hard searches already made by lenders you have approached and been rejected by, which will wave all sorts of red flags to them! Stop making applications.

When did your IVA start ? If less than 6 years ago it might well show on the other credit reference agencies files on you --- you need to check all three.

[Stephanie.k]

Thanks for the reply. Just as I thought, the 999 score seemed a bit odd. I will check with some of the others as you suggested.

It has been over 6 years since the IVA started. They have just been soft searches for agreement in principle, which stated they should have no impact on credit ref agencies (assuming they are not lying!) Thanks

[Foggy]

Soft searches should be OK.

You would be better served approaching a broker with experience of adverse credit applications --- they know who ask awkward questions as well as the policies of the various lenders regarding past IVA's.

[Ryan]

Hi Stephanie.k,
Have you considered using a 'whole of market mortgage broker' who specialises in dealing with people who have had IVA's?

[Shaun Vickery]

Hi Stephanie. As previous posters have already said, you shouldn't pre-occupy yourself with the credit rating from the agencies themselves, they are mostly only indicative and lenders will make decisions based on the actual content. I'd strongly recommend not applying to any further lenders until you have had someone look at the actual information, which an expert broker will then be able to match with a lender's criteria from a position of knowledge and experience. It is more important to do that at this stage BEFORE making any further applications.

From what you are saying it should be possible to find a suitable mortgage for you, assuming that there is nothing else showing which would affect an application.

[Luc Miles]

hi , please help with advice . Initial situation: a couple , whith a 16 y.o. child . One on a contract, part-time about 19,000 per year. The second is self-employed. 3rd year business , the annual income doesn't exceed 20 k . They live where a decent apartment starts rom 200k and a house is about 250 . There is a deposit of 20 k , buying their first house . What can you get out of this situation ? We watched the so-called Sheared Ownership scheme. Everything looks great on the website, quite affordable. But! Should I get involved in this story? And why? What can be the outputs? Is it possible to buy this property on the sly? Throw in any ideas please, who is in the topic and came across this.

[luluj]

Have you contacted the whole of the mortgage brokers who support this forum?

I have personal experience if using Ryan from Zebra Money, he posted earlier in this thread, and he has helped several times in the last few years, along with helping many other forum members.

Shaun also comes recommended by other posters in this thread.

Click on their names in their posts and their contact details will be revealed.

[Luc Miles]

i remember when i first time took my mortgage, it was like my worst adventure, every day new papers, new numbers , calculations, and I was trying to understand every word . But second time was much easier , and clearer what is happening . I found a mortgage broker [Edit: live link removed by moderator] , i bought a house in Manchester , and they did all the paper work for me , they arrange all our insurance for us too and gave me an advisor who monitored the progress of my mortgage .Now me and my partner leaving together, and yeah , we did it untill 30 .

[jimr7564]

Mortgages can be really tiring, I fell into heavy debt due to that so I had to contact agencies like Stepchange who helped me by providing a handful of advice although my credit score got really hampered.

[luluj]

If the right mortgage is sourced and your income and expenditure closely checked, a mortgage should not be tiring.

For those with past debt issues who want to gain a foot on the property ladder the use of a whole of the market broker, such as Ryan and Shaun, both forum experts who have helped hundreds of forum members over the years, is essential.

Everyone is different, everyone deserves a chance of happiness.