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Original poster

joint mortgage - one poor and one excellent

76 replies

BlueFrenchHorn · 03/04/2014 18:29

Dh and I wanted to get a mortgage to buy a bigger house.

We had an offer on our flat, and will make 90k profit.

Both of us earn decent salaries, dh is higher.

We've just found out that dh's credit score is 665 (poor) and mine is excellent (999).

Is there anyway we could get a mortgage?

If not how can we improve his score and how long will this take?

We're so incredibly gutted.

OP posts:
JaneinReading · 05/04/2014 16:59

Sounds like borrowing from the mother to pay off his debt IF and only if that will clear the credit score might be a way to do it. Have you tried different mortgage brokers? They often have a lot of knowledge. Also remember on 1 April the rules all changed to make loans harder to get. If you pay into a pension and for life insurance (until now good indicators someone is a good bet financially) even that is held against you because it costs you which is a weird way to assess credit risk in my view.

nkf · 05/04/2014 17:02

Stop bailing him out. Honestly, it's the only way. Read the literature by Debtors Anonymous. It's so clear about the insanity that is recurrent debt.

Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 05/04/2014 18:57

If I don't bail him out then the whole family suffers. We have 2 dc so I'm thinking about their future. I'm trying to ensure a good inheritance for them as well as us needing the space.

I'm not excusing his behaviour but it's not ny fault. I knew nothing about it and what's my options? Either deal with this debt as quickly as possible to ensure we can move as quickly ad feasibly possible thus ensuring stability (no letting and renting) for the kids and cheaper monthly mortgage compared to the extortionate rent we're paying.

Or tell him to do it himself and it takes twice as long.

I'm thinking about the children. What else can I possibly do?

jane great. So its probably going to take longer than a year then?

OP posts:
Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 05/04/2014 18:59

line booze and going out then when he couldn't keep up with payments would miss month after month of payments and the interest would sky rocket. Hr's £1000 in arrears as it is he needs to pay that off before he's even go to the debt itself.

OP posts:
Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 05/04/2014 18:59

The whole thing makes me sick.

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nkf · 05/04/2014 20:23

Don't borrow more. You cannot get out of debt by borrowing.

JaneinReading · 05/04/2014 20:27

moneyfor20s.about.com/od/understandingcredit/f/creditscoreoldd.htm

I suspect it's not a very exact science as to whether if he pays off all the £6k debt owed on the credit card it improves things.

The other option someone mentioned is buy a "buy to let" without him. However the interest rate will be higher.

SomewhereBeyondTheSea · 05/04/2014 20:28

He needs to take responsibility for himself.
If you carry on picking up the pieces each time he won't get any better and could easily get worse and load you with an amount of debt that you either can't escape from or have to go bankrupt as s result of.
I'd separate my finances and give him a year to show he has learned his lesson and worked on improving his credit rating, if I were you.

tribpot · 05/04/2014 20:51

I'm trying to ensure a good inheritance for them

And frankly, until he gets a grip on his spending problem, the more you bail him out the less likely it is there will be anything for them to inherit. Presumably after last time it was agreed 'never again'. And here you are again anyway. By taking control of this debt, you are treating a symptom, not the cause of the problem. And indeed masking the symptom, which allows the problem to grow worse.

The kids won't be bothered about moving a few times, although you may hate it. There are more important things at stake here than a few (albeit quite a few) grand.

I fully sympathise with you; you're right, this isn't your fault. And my instinct would also be to take over the problem and make it go away. What we're suggesting is not easy. But I think if you don't take action now, in five years' time you'll be back here and he'll have run through 10 or 20 grand. And you'll be drawing equity out of your property for years to come to keep bailing him out.

Mumoftwoyoungkids · 05/04/2014 21:45

So you have no treats or even Asda clothes and he had spent 6 fucking grand on booze and going out?!?

Huh?!?!

Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 05/04/2014 22:26

nkf the crazy thing is if we sell up and move our mortgage on a bigger place will be less than the current rent we're paying. Plus nursery fees will be cheaper. If we can move it'll actually be cheaper for us and we can pay off his debt quicker.

I'm just so worried that in a years time we won't get anywhere near the price we've agreed and then we'll have lost out.

I'm genuinely listening to you all, but I'm also not willing to leave him to his own devices because all I see is joint family income and debt. Debt I need to fix because I'm better at finances than he is.

he's agreed to see a counsellor about his dtinkit and secretive lying behaviour though.

OP posts:
SolomanDaisy · 06/04/2014 07:25

If you aren't living in the place you are selling and don't think you'll get the same price next year, why not go ahead with the sale? Put the money somewhere your DH can't touch it obviously!

NotJustACigar · 06/04/2014 07:49

Where are you finding the brokers you have been speaking to? Please, please don't tell me they're with London and Country. They are rubbish for anyone with even a slightly non-straightforward situation. You need a real broker - someone experienced and specialising in adverse credit.

There is an excellent Mortgages and Endowments forum on moneysavingexpert where experienced professional brokers help people figure out the best course of action for them. I highly recommend you post on there and ask for their opinions on whether there is a chance for you now and if not the best way to improve your chances in the future. If you find a broker on there is giving you sensible advice then you can PM them. Most of them will I've you a free consultation over the phone and if they take on your case they won't charge you until they've gotten you a mortgage approval.

The MMR (mortgage market review) changes alluded to earlier in this thread may or may not affect you and are to do with affordability rather than credit worthiness. So if you are trying to borrow 4x joint income and have high child care costs, etc it could be an issue. These changes are coming mid-April but some lenders have started applying them now.

NotJustACigar · 06/04/2014 07:50

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=15

Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 06/04/2014 09:18

Solomon because I'm worried if we do that and house prices rise we'll be outpriced the market when it comes to buy again. If we buy and sell at the same time at least everything will be on context and proportion.

I'm petrified of stepping off the ladder only to find it'll be impossible to ever get back on.

at the absolute worst case scenario, in 22 years we own the flat out right. Our kids could sell it and use the money as a deposit on their own place.

Hoping it won't come to that.

not the first broker were with just mortgages. We are now with someone who specialises in adverse lenders and we've submitted an AIP to aldermore. If this is rejected we have no choice but to carry on letting and renting.

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nkf · 06/04/2014 11:08

I wouldn't advise selling and renting. That would achieve nothing. If you are happy to run all the finances that's fine, but can you trust him? For example, if I were him, I wouldn't have a credit card. I can't handle them myself. I start off well and then it gets out of control. Is he like that? If he can't see big picture stuff, if the immediate treats always come before the long term, then he need to find a way to curb that. Does he want to? There is a good book called Money Drunk by Julia Cameron which catergorises some of the ways people mismanage money. I saw myself in there and it really helped me get a grip.

JaneinReading · 06/04/2014 11:33

Yes, give him cash each week and don't let him have any cards at all. That will stop the problem for the future.
You need to speak to a good mortgage broker as to whether paying off the whole £6k credit card debt now will improve the credit history immediately and enough to ensure you can both get the mortgage to move or not.

nkf · 06/04/2014 11:38

You can't stop someone from getting a credit card. He has to want not to have one. You can't micromanage an adult's life.

Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 06/04/2014 12:26

jane I asked that question and was told ideally paying off the debt would be great but what lenders want to see is responsibility with credit. So the idea scenario would be pay off the entire debt then him use a credit card sensibly and pay it off in full each month.

Seeing as we can't pay off the debt without selling the house the best I can do is over pay each month in order to get at least 12 months of clean payments on his record.

We have one shot at an AIP with aldermore. If they say no its back to letting and renting.

I will update tomorrow and let you know the outcome. Thank you all for your help.

OP posts:
Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 07/04/2014 15:19

Aldermore is a no. We've pulled out the sale now and hoping a year will be enough to get a lender.

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nkf · 07/04/2014 15:23

Why does he need a credit card? Pay it sensibly? What does that mean? It's a debt card. These cards exist to enable people to get into debt easily.

I'm sorry you didn't get the news you wanted, but you might find it's for the best. You sound as if you have plans for going ahead. Good luck.

Original poster
BlueFrenchHorn · 07/04/2014 18:59

Lenders want to see you use credit responsibly - so having a cc and paying it off in full every month looks good as it shows the banks you're responsible with credit.

He doesn't need a cc. He treated himself beyond what was acceptable - nights out, booze, cabs etc. Now the account is closed but still racking up interest.

Not selling means we're fucked financially - oir repayments would've been lower, cc paid off, money in the bank, 20% cash deposit. Now paying off his card and nursery fees and rent etc will leave us with £250 a month. We need to buy food, nappies etc everything with this.

I've been massively punished for his debt.

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nkf · 07/04/2014 19:15

Lenders don't mind no debt either. You have been punished and it must be depressing. I hope you can work it out. I've looked at moneysaving expert forums from time to time and they often have good ideas.

TypicaLibra · 07/04/2014 22:27

I can't help but feel massively indignant on your behalf OP.

He didn't even have the courtesy to tell you he had a cc.

He spent it on superfluous crap just for himself .... taxis, booze, nights out. The family didn't benefit at all from this spending.

In the meantime you were scrimping and saving - no new clothes, no takeaways, no makeup, no treats, no social life.

I don't know how you can even look at him let alone carry on living with him. Sorry but what a tosser. He clearly has had zero respect for you.

Fluffycloudland77 · 07/04/2014 22:43

We had to pay off Dh's credit card & finance on a watch before we got a mortgage.

No late or missed payments but the lenders didn't like it. I think it came to £2000 debt in all.

Mortgagefreeinthree is a good blog to read.