Hi. Myself and my boyfriend are applying for a mortgage for £130k. It will be a joint application and we are putting a 25% deposit down. He has a perfect credit history, I did a credit check with Equifax and I came out with a score of 475 (excellent rating). The report said that I had 2 credit card arrears - 1 in 2005 and 1 in 2006. I have since (ages ago) settled these accounts and cancelled them. I have recently paid off 3 credit cards and have also cancelled those too. I currently have 1 loan (less than 12 months to go) and 1 credit card (balance decreasing each month). I earn £26k and my b.f. earns £36k. Both on the electoral role, both been in our jobs for 5 years +, no CCJs, no defaults, no blacklists.

What do you think our chances are, given my two arrears from 2005 and 2006, and existing debt? I keep reading horror stories that even though people have an 'excellent' credit rating, they are still being declined!

Will it strenghten our case for a mortgage due to it being a joint application and the large deposit? Any help greatly appreciated!

I would shop around for the best deal then ask in the bank if these would effect you getting a mortgage. If you only had 10% deposit i would say it could effect it and your application usually goes straight to the underwriters. But your less risk with a 25% deposit. I don't work for a bank or anything but i've just recently got my first mortgage, so i'm just going from what experiance i had. Good luck with it though!

Hi any_advice2009... thanks for your help. We are looking around for the best deal. I bank with NW and have approached them for advice. They seem to think that my past arrears shouldn't be a problem, but they may be satisfied with me because my loan and card are with them, and they can see all my money info! I think it might be the NW or RBS we go to for the application, not sure yet though.

Thanks again - much appreciated.

Hi,

Speaking from experience, don't rely too much on your Equifax rating. In fact, Experian seems to be more widely used, so you may find that Equifax says you have an excellent rating, but Experian rates you in the Fair/Poor/Very Poor end of the scale.

You will need to pay £5.95 for the report, but it's definitely worth it, so you don't get any surprises when you try to apply for a mortgage and get declined.

The sad thing is that lenders aren't saying why they decline your application. At best, they give the standard answer "you don't meet our lending criteria". How that's meant to help you improve your position, is anyone's guess...

Good luck.