With lenders tightening their lending criteria on a daily basis and making it harder for borrowers to obtain mortgage funds, I am often asked “what can I do to make myself more appealing to a lender” Well here are some obvious tips.
Lenders are looking for larger deposits and loan to values are being squeezed, it is impossible to get mortgages over 90% loan to value, so the first thing you need is a good size deposit, the bigger the deposit the better the mortgage deals.
The key area for any lender at the moment is the credit search. Lenders are looking for a squeaky clean credit file so please ensure that all existing credit commitments are up to date and have never had any missed or late payment. Lenders are not looking for excuses or reasons for missed payments as in their eyes “everyone has a story” if you are having a dispute with a loan company or service provider DO NOT cancel payments as part of your dispute as this will affect your credit file.
As part of the credit search process there is a credit score, this is a system to ensure you come up to the lenders expectations, always remember that it is a computer that decides whether you get a mortgage or not, not a human. The credit scoring system takes into account a lot of things but it will look at your credit history, your employment, your existing commitments and income. To gain maximum points on the credit score you need the following.
Be on the voters roll, ensure credit commitments are up to date, being at the same address for over 3 years also helps.
First Time Buyers can have problems with credit scoring through no fault of their own, to help First Time Buyers approve their chances there is one thing I would recommend “ get a credit card”, just a small one with a small credit limit, use this card to buy the odd item or pay for petrol and ensure you it pay off ever month, this will show a potential lender that you are responsible.