www.iva.co.uk

Hi, My IVA is ending August 31st this year. I have recently gone through a divorce and will be looking to find a new house if possible when the IVA is completed. My question is what is the process of getting a mortgage after an IVA should I wait a set amount of time to rebuild my credit file if so how long? I will only have a small deposit is there any chance of Help to Buy? Can I use high street lenders? I have read on here of people being successful applying for a mortgage on here just not sure where to start? Thanks

Hi Gary,

It's important that you have checked that all 3 of your credit reports (Experian, Equifax and Callcredit/Noddle) are checked individually to make sure that they are all clear and up to date initially.

We have certainly managed to obtain Mortgages for many Clients following IVAs including under the Help to Buy scheme.

Regards

Hi Ryan, thanks for the quick response when would you suggest contacting yourself, should I wait for the completion certificate?
Regards
Gary.

Feel free to contact us at anytime. Best to get the credit reports first then we can take a look at them for you and offer any advice where needed prior to the Completion certificate being issued and give you a realistic idea on how much you would be able to borrow, etc.

Regards

It's certainly worth having a look at your credit files now so that any preparation can be done ahead of making an application and so that all your options can be looked at.

I also managed to sort my own remortgage after Iva. Had a look at high street lenders and just gave them a quick call to ask if they lend to ex IVA people. Some said no. Some said as long as it started over 6 yrs ago. Was now completed and i had received my completion cert it was fine. Didn't try to hide anything and didn't tarnish my credit score with lots of failed applications

There are a few issues with what you say Andy, notwithstanding that I'm glad it worked for you. Firstly, lenders will often say that they consider applicants with a previous IVA when in reality they don't. Their Advisers are encouraged to bring people through the door and credit searches are carried out (very often even resulting in a positive 'decision in principle') only for it to be declined at a later stage. By way of another example, Santander will tell you they will consider lending to someone with 4 County Court Judgements....but they won't! In any event, asking the IVA question also only confirms one facet of a lender's criteria but of course you also have to meet all of the others, which can be quite detailed. Furthermore, if your credit file isn't checked prior to making an application to ensure that everything is in order this can result in a declined application which ideally we'd wish to avoid. Finally, do you really know that you have secured the best rate available?

I appreciate what you are saying and don't want to get into any kind of arguement about. Maybe i was lucky? Who knows. I waited until about 6 months after receiving my completion cert, built up a little credit via new mobile phone contract and little amount on credit card. Also made sure my credit file was squeeky clean with the 3 main agencies, ( Equifax, Experian, Noddle ) then i just did my own online research via moneysupermarket, moneysavingexpert, and other similar sights to see what products were on offer and what rates available. To be honest it was all pretty simple stuff and had no hiccups throughout the remortgage.

Again - have a chat with either Ryan or Shaun - both come highly recommended.