Poor Credit

Being accepted for a mortgage can be challenging at the best of times, so if you have a poor credit history this can add further complications and getting advice on your options is a must. 

Lenders categorise the risk you present to them based on your credit history so if you have previous adverse credit, you’ll typically need a bigger deposit to secure a mortgage (generally 15% of the property value). Mortgage lenders are interested in the following – missed or late payments on credit agreements, defaults, county court judgements, arrangements to pay, debt management plans, IVA’s, mortgage arrears, bankruptcy and previous repossession (to name a few)… If you have had issues in the past with your credit, this doesn’t mean you won’t be accepted for a mortgage. It does mean we need to be carrying out a full assessment of your credit report though, as without doing this first, we would be applying blind to new lenders and risk putting search footprints on your credit report without even having an idea if you’ll be accepted.

At Baxter Financial Services we will assess your credit report for any previous issues and use this to advise you on your options, we can then establish which lenders we’d have as potential options and look at your borrowing potential. Although you should expect to pay a slightly higher interest rate with adverse credit lenders, as long as you keep on top of your credit moving forward, there’s no reason why we won’t be able to remortgage you to a high street lender with more attractive products in years to come.

Also, don’t confuse having a lack of credit with having poor credit – some people who have never had much/any credit in the past may not have a good credit score, but lenders are less interested in the actual credit score itself, and more interested in the account conduct of previous credit commitments. Don’t be put off applying for a mortgage if you think your credit score could be better – get in touch and let us help you through the process.