How easy was it for you to get a mortgage?

[CuriousMary]

So we're about 2 years off from saving our ideal deposit but really worried we won't get accepted for a mortgage. Both had average credit scores.
Will we struggle??

It's really hard to say without any info on info in salary, outgoings, commitments etc. Pop to a bank and have a chat, you can do a mortgage assessment and they will tell you how much they'd be willing to lend you. Takes about 20mins. All banks have slightly different criteria so it's worth going to a couple.

I've found nationwide and NatWest easiy to deal with when I did this last year, but I'm sure all the main highstreet banks are much of a muchness.

Pop in to your bank and pick up a leaflet on how to build your credit history, get a credit card and use and clear every month, make sure you make payments on rime for bills etc and don't go overdrawn all things that willl affect your credit score.

Yes, it can be hard to say. Our last mortgage was less than we'd thought (but fortunately it was enough) because DH had had a few years where for various reasons he'd been through a few jobs and some gaps (and I'd been made redundant during that time and had a gap), so they only loaned us x2.4 our salaries. So we had good incomes and credit rating, but one patchy job history, so that can affect things.

Honestly? Pretty easy.

Everyone was telling us scare stories but if your situation is "normal" ie permanent employment, pay bills on time etc.

Main thing to focus on is building a deposit as obviously that will maximise how much you can borrow.

Easy - but it depends on circumstances

We found it took ages but it was because DH had been left with a terrible credit reference following his first marriage. It was about 220 🤦‍♀️ It took about 2 years of hard work to repair that plus a lot of joint saving until we had a 6.5% deposit. Also used a broker which helped.

Build up your credit rating. You have two years so you should be able to do this. A free site you can check your rating on is noddle. Check it every couple of months. Make sure you pay down your credit cards because they will take how much money you owe on things into account when deciding how much mortgage to lend you. Make sure you check out the criterion on bank website. We chose Coventry Building Society and they had criteria on site we could look up before applying. They asked us to supply three months salary payslips so save those up before you apply. They will also ask for 3 months bank statements so make sure you can get rid of any unnecessary payments beforehand. They will look for regular payments you make to see what money is already committed.

We went to our bank for an AIP and they made it seem difficult, examining every direct debit etc.
Saw a broker instead, and got a 93% mortgage at a better rate easily.

Second time around really easy (conveyancing for the sale...that's another story). First mortgage took out on my own in 2010 whilst earning around £18k was a nightmare. I think rules have been relaxed to a degree. This time around I was buying with partner and wasn't borrowing a huge Amount which helped so I only had to provide wage slips.

Mortgages aren't like other borrowing so credit score whilst being important, is such a small part of it. Obviously a rubbish credit score, would have an impact. However, what lenders are more focussed on is affordability so can you easily make the repayments, and would you be able to continue to do so in the event of interest rates increasing.

The best thing to do is to make sure you minimise outgoings and keep on top of borrowing. Try to make sure you don't have much outstanding in the way of loans, overdraft and hire purchase costs. Childcare also factors in but your mainly looking at having more coming in then going out. We didn't even have to declare how much Sky and gym was costing this time as the lender just asked if we needed to would we cancel luxuries to make sure we could afford a mortgage.

We went to our bank for an AIP and they made it seem difficult, examining every direct debit etc. Saw a broker instead, and got a 93% mortgage at a better rate easily.

Similar story - my mate went to her bank. Both her and her husband very high earners, banked with them for decades, got stress tested to rates of 10%, still got refused. Were accepted in minutes by a different lender.

I tried my bank (Nationwide) but they insisted on a 3hr skype appt just to look at it, which they couldn't offer for months. Went to a broker, was out and back home in

I found it pretty easy
I would get a copy of your credit score and see if there’s any thing that flags up that you can change e.g any outstanding debts
Ongoing debts are less of a problem if you’re paying regularly as it proves you’re a good payer

Definitely use a mortgage broker- they look at the whole market whilst a bank will only offer you their own products
Good luck

Don’t bother with a bank, find a mortgage broker that looks at the whole of the market (not all of them do.)

We got a mortgage this year despite average credit ratings and both being contractors not permanent employees. Obviously that comes with a higher (fixed) interest rate but there are a lot of options available.

Should not be hard if you go about it the right way. Also recommend a broker. For our last mortgage I went straight to the lender who, despite us having a 65% deposit turned us down after months of dicking us around. Went to a broker who sorted us out in a matter of days with a much better deal. Worth his fee, not least because each time our deal is up for renewal he contacts us and sorts it all out for us.

Try giving L&C a call, they are highly regarded brokers and recommended by Martin Lewis

God, I had no joy with L&C at all. Took ages to call me back, couldn't get through to the same person twice, etc etc. Completely useless. I found an independent broker through a recommendation on here instead.

We've used L&C 3 times now - in 2014 and 2017 they were brilliant, but when we used them recently to remortgage they were a nightmare to get hold of.

On the whole we didn't find it too bad. It was harder once we had childcare costs to account for each month, but before then was really easy. I'm now self employed and we've still managed to remortgage and change provider without any hassle.

First time, in 2012, it was a bit tricky, as DH had missed a couple of credit payment five years before, and that really affected his credit score. We had to increase our deposit and weren’t loaned as much as we’d hoped.

We’d heard that it was much tougher when we tried to move in 2017. By then, I had stopped working and we had two children, but they agreed to loan DH 4.5x his salary (including bonus as averaged over previous three years) and never called us in. DH arranges it all by phone, albeit involving a broker and we never hit an issue.

Very easy for us, as first time buyer, mover and then remortgaging. However we have a big deposit and a lowish LTV. Have a chat with your bank and see how much you can borrow.

We used a broker as a first time buyer but never did it again. I find it easier to just do it myself through the bank. I got better deals with HSBC and first direct than both the real estate agents broker or L&C could do.

Our mortgage was actually loads more than we thought they would give. Even though I have no credit at all and my husband is nearly 50.
We had a decent deposit though and they valued the house at more than we were paying for it so there wasnt much risk for the bank.

I got a mortgage on my own on a salary at the time of £26k

I had a huge deposit though from the sale of the marital home when i divorced.

I used a broker and went with nationwide

Go speak to a broker.

They will be able to advise on the best mortgage that fits your circumstances.

Also, brokers tend to get slightly better rates than going direct.

I'm an Underwriter for one of the main high street banks and the vast majority of our business comes from our broker network.

It was pretty easy - last time was in 2013. I was surprised how much the bank offered to lend us (almost half a million) which I thought was quite high (approx 5 times joint salary).

Things they were interested in were childcare bills and any missed payments.

Ring "Which?" Mortgage advisers they are whole market and it's all a very open and transparent process with no obligation

A broker found a cheaper deal for us than the Which advisers, surprisingly - not what I expected at all! That might have been down to our age for the last mortgage and one wage-earner for 2 adults and one child. Also, we had a mortgage-free property that we could sell i